DETROIT – Cleveland Cavaliers’ powerful striker Kevin Love will return to the team on Saturday night after missing the season opener due to a calf injury.
Love, 32, has been sidelined since the team’s first exhibition game on December 12. Love said he was kicked in the calf and had a swelling in his leg from the knee to the Achilles tendon. It was officially considered a tense calf. While he wanted to play on Wednesday’s debut, the team decided that two more days of rest would be beneficial. Love participated in the team’s morning shootaround at Little Caesars Arena and said “it feels great”.
“The legs are under me,” said Love. “I imagine that the wind aspect is a little difficult for me, especially in that first quarter, but I feel good to go.”
Larry Nance Jr., who started in Love’s place on Wednesday, will return to his sixth male role.
“We have to do our best to put him on the ground,” said coach JB Bickerstaff of Nance. “I think he’s showing us that he deserves this. Its versatility allows us to play it in several different locations. I think we had some success with this big lineup. But when you play as he played, it is our responsibility to find a way to put him down. And we have to do that. “
Reserve guard Dante Exum also underwent a shooting session. Officially listed as questionable, Exum is expected to make his season debut after a sprained left hip that kept him out of the last two preseason games and the opening night win against the Hornets.
The Cavs’ first road game also marks the return of pivot Andre Drummond to Detroit. Drummond, twice All-Star and ninth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, spent seven seasons with the Pistons before a mid-season switch to Cleveland in February. Drummond scored 14 points and had 14 rebounds on Wednesday.
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