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For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword.
What a difference a week makes for Cleveland Cavaliers in this NBA season with a condensed 66-game schedule.
After beating the Dallas Mavericks last Saturday night, 91-88, the Cavs lost three of their next four games and were leap-frogged in the standings by the New York Knicks and their "Linsane" five-game winning streak. Cleveland remains in the mix for the eight playoff spot in the East, now two games behind the resurgent Knicks.
The Cavs are trying to hold things together without rookie points guard and leading scorer Kyrie Irving who missed the last three games with a concussion. The Cavs hope Irving can return after a few days off for their next game against Indiana on Wednesday. Cleveland also has front court issues with their top rebounder and energizer, Anderson Varejao out indefinitely with a broken wrist suffered in the second half of the Cavs' 113-112 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Cavs started the week losing 107-91 to the Miami Heat before posting an impressive 99-92 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The injuries hit home with the loss to Milwaukee on Friday and the 99-84 pounding by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Rookie Tristan Thompson and Semih Erden will have to step up in the absence of Varejao when Irving returns to keep the young Cavs fighting for that final playoff spot in the East which would be a remarkable accomplishment, far exceeding preseason expectations for this team.
For more on the Cavs, check out Fear The Sword.
Kyrie Irving's concussion suffered against the Miami Heat earlier in the week has had the rookie star listed as 'day to day' for the next while, and it looks like the injury has gotten the better of the 19 year old. Boyer Reed tweeted Friday morning that Irving will be missing both of Cleveland's weekend games with concussion issues.
The Cavs' two games this weekend are against the Milwaukee Bucks Friday evening and the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. The Cavs were able to work without their young star against the Los Angeles Clippers when Ramon Sessions stepped up into the point guard role in a big way, with 23 points and 13 assists. They'll need similar performances to keep coming from Sessions if they want to keep their hopes up in a tight spot for the lower playoff spots in the Eastern conference.
The Cavs announced the signing of Ben Uzoh on Friday to mitigate a bit of the damage.
For more on Irving and the Cavaliers, check out Fear The Sword.
The Cleveland Cavaliers haven't had a lot of bright spots in their lineup this season, but first overall pick Kyrie Irving has shown he was worthy of the honor. Unfortunately for the Cleveland faithful, however, Irving was diagnosed with a concussion on Wednesday -- a scary injury that doesn't happen all that often in basketball.
There aren't a lot of details surrounding the rookie's injury, but the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that he was diagnosed with the head injury during Wednesday's pregame.
Irving was diagnosed with a concussion by team doctor A.J. Cianflocco. Club says no timetable for his return
— Reed, Boyer (@PDcavsinsider) February 9, 2012
The injury apparently happened, according to the Plain Dealer, when he was kneed in the head during Tuesday evening's contest. Irving complained about having a headache and, prior to Wednesday's game, he was diagnosed with the concussion.
As of now, there is no timetable for his return.
For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.
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Kyrie Irving Injury Update: Cavaliers Rookie Cleared To Play Against Pacers Wednesday
The Cleveland Cavaliers are on a two-game losing streak and have a tough test on Wednesday in the Indiana Pacers, but they now have a solid chance to get back in the win column (while furthering Indiana's woes with a five-game losing streak). It looks as though Kyrie Irving will be back in action when the Pacers come to town as part of Cleveland's franchise-record nine-game homestand.
With a full participation in practice on Tuesday, Irving was cleared to play as per the NBA's new guidelines on concussions. Like most sports, the NBA has been cracking down on head injuries (which, without context, sounds counter-productive) and now players have to go through multiple steps before they're able to play again. Part of those steps is a league physician being consulted before giving the thumbs up.
Dwyane Wade was the cause of the concussion, when Irving banged his head on Wade's knee in a game on Feb. 7, a 107-91 loss to the Miami Heat. The Cavaliers went on to win their next outing, a 99-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, but have since dropped two-straight to Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
Under the old guidelines, Irving would have been cleared to play prior to Tuesday's practice, as he's said that he hasn't had symptoms for a few days now, but a full practice is now required. He leads all rookies in scoring with 18 points per game and has been a big reason for Cleveland's near-relevance as a fringe .500 team.
For more on the Cleveland Cavaliers, go to Fear The Sword. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.
Feb 15 12:33p by James Brady