Cavs’ Love out with broken hand, avoids surgery
Kevin Love dodged surgery. The Cavaliers were hit hard.
The All-Star forward, who was recently at the center of some team turmoil, will miss two months because of a broken left hand. Love fractured the fifth metacarpal Tuesday night during a loss at Detroit, and his injury is just the latest mishap for the Cavs, who are coming off a sub-par January.
It was expected that Love would need an operation to repair the break, but after Cleveland’s medical staff consulted with doctors at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery, it was determined Love can recover without any procedure. He had surgery on his left hand in 2009 while with Minnesota and still has three screws in place.
The timetable for Love’s return means he’ll miss all but the final two weeks of the regular season. The team’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder won’t have much time to get ready for the playoffs. But with the way the Cavs are playing, it’s questionable how far they can go.
Cleveland (30-20) is coming off a bumpy month in which the Eastern Conference champions went 6-8 and were blown out in several losses, leading to finger-pointing between teammates. During a recent team meeting, Love was questioned by some Cleveland players for leaving a loss against Oklahoma City and then missing practice the next day.
Love explained he was sick, the Cavs accepted his excuse and the team seemed to be coming together when he got injured. He’s averaging 17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds in his fourth season with Cleveland, which hosts Houston on Saturday.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue spoke to Love and said his “spirits are down.”
Not only is Love missing the playoff push, but he’ll have to sit out the AllStar game for the second straight year. He sat out last season following a procedure on his knee. Miami’s Goran Dragic will replace him for the Feb. 18 game in Los Angeles.
LeBron James dismisses story linking him to Warriors
To LeBron James, the Golden State Warriors are a highly respected rival — nothing more.
Now and forever. James strongly denounced a report that said he would consider playing for the Warriors if the NBA champions were able to restructure their roster to accommodate the four-time league MVP. On Thursday, ESPN, citing anonymous league sources, reported James would meet with the Warriors this summer if they cleared the salary-cap space to sign him, assuming he will opt out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers and become a free agent
“It’s nonsense, and it’s a non-story,” James said Friday following the Cavaliers’ practice. “I think it’s a discredit to what I’m trying to do here. It’s a discredit to my teammates and the coaching staff here. My only focus right now is trying to figure out how we can become a championship-caliber team in these next few months.”
Bucks’ Brogdon out up to 8 weeks
Milwaukee Bucks guard
Malcolm Brogdon will be sidelined for up to eight weeks with a partially torn left quadriceps tendon.
Brogdon suffered the injury during the second quarter of the Bucks’ 108-89 loss at Minnesota on Thursday night. The reigning Rookie of the Year went down after a dunk and needed to be helped off the floor.
The Bucks said in a statement Friday they learned the extent of Brogdon’s injury after he underwent an MRI and an examination by the team’s doctor.
Brogdon has played in 46 games this season and is averaging 13.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only Bucks players to win the league’s top rookie honors.
Noah won’t return to Knicks until further notice
Joakim Noah’s absence from the New York Knicks will continue indefinitely.
A team official said Friday that Noah and the Knicks have mutually agreed that he will not be back with the club until further notice.
Noah left the team last week after a dispute with coach Jeff Hornacek. He’s already missed a pair of games this week.
The veteran center hasn’t reclaimed a rotation spot after missing the start of the season while serving the remainder of a 20-game suspension. That suspension began last season for violating terms of the antidrug agreement.
The Knicks could try to find a trade for him before next Thursday’s deadline. However, a deal will be difficult because he has two more seasons remaining on the $72-million contract he signed in the summer of 2016.