Cleveland Cavaliers star big man Anderson Varejao left the floor during Tuesday's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a left foot/ankle injury.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports reported the details of Varejao's injury:
Varejao is a key cog in the Cavs' chemistry. Although the team has another All-Star in the frontcourt in Kevin Love and a stud point guard in Kyrie Irving, neither played with superstar LeBron James during his first stint with the team.
Now that James has returned to Cleveland, Varejao is the lone core holdover who has an innate understanding of what it's like to play with the game's best player.
Medical issues have plagued Varejao throughout his career, though he's only missed one game in the 2014-15 NBA season, with a rib injury, which the Cavs won 109-97 over Indiana on November 29.
While Varejao's absence will force youngster Tristan Thompson to tackle a bigger role and may be somewhat of a blessing in disguise, coach David Blatt would love to have as much stability in his rotation as possible.
Blatt is a first-year NBA coach with championship expectations. Having someone with Varejao's experience and energy is impossible to replace. The deeper Cleveland can ultimately go in its bench as the season goes on, though, the better off it will be in pursuit of the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1zw8geH
via IFTTT December 23, 2014 at 05:49PM
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