The Cleveland Cavaliers just can't seem to catch a break when it comes to the NBA injury bug. The pre-season saw LeBron James struggling with a lingering injury. When the season started, Cleveland lost Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade to games earlier in the season and saw Iman Shumpert pick up an injury as well. Now, it looks like one of the top defensive stars on the Cavaliers team might miss up to a month of playing time as well in Tristan Thompson.
Tristan Thompson injury report
NBA.com reported that Tristan Thompson left Quicken Loans Arena on crutches after suffering a strained left calf.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, Thompson is expected to miss one month with the injury he suffered in the Cleveland Cavaliers loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Sources: Cleveland Cavaliers' Tristan Thompson is expected to miss one month with left calf injury he suffered Wednesday night.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 2, 2017
The Tristan Thompson injury occurred in the second quarter of the Cavaliers game with the Pacers and he never returned. This was a tough break for Thompson and Cleveland. He had just returned to the starting lineup as a center when the Cavaliers moved Kevin Love back to power forward after an experiment at the start of the season where Love played center.
It looks like Kevin Love might be moving back to the center position now as ESPN reported that power forward Jae Crowder will replace Tristan in the starting lineup for the Cavaliers. Before his injury, Thompson was averaging 4.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.5 blocks per game on the season.
Cleveland Cavaliers injury woes
Things just don't seem to be lining up for the Cleveland Cavaliers when it comes to injuries.
On top of the Tristan Thompson injury, the Cavaliers also have to deal with the loss of Iman Shumpert. The shooting guard has a sore right knee and Cleveland announced they will shut him down for the next five to seven days to recover.
Derrick Rose appears to be back to full-strength. He returned from an ankle injury on Oct.
29 and averaged 30 minutes a game since returning, with a 17 point per game scoring average. Dwyane Wade is also back after suffering through some back problems and has averaged 21 minutes a game but has only eclipsed double-digit points twice this season for the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers starting point guard Isaiah Thomas has been out all season after Cleveland traded Kyrie Irving for him in the offseason. Thomas is expected back around Christmas or the start of 2018. The sooner he is back, the better. The Cleveland Cavaliers have opened the 2017-18 NBA season with a disappointing 3-5 record.
