Cavs lose Love for second round
There was concern about the status of Cleveland forward Kevin Love after he dislocated his left shoulder in Sunday's victory over Boston. It turns out, the injury will have a major impact on the Cavs' second-round playoff series.
The Cavaliers said Love will not play at all in the upcoming series against the Bulls or Bucks. When the Cavaliers released a medical update Monday, the injury sounded nasty.
"Evaluation and imaging have defined the extent of the injury: an acute anterior inferior glenohumeral dislocation with the corresponding ligament / labrum tearing and humeral head bone bruising," the Cavaliers' statement read.
"Additional opinions are being obtained and treatment options explored. Love will be unavailable for the upcoming Eastern Conference semifinal series and an update regarding his status beyond that will be determined over the next several days."
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was asked about Love's injury before Monday's game, but he did not want to address it.
The Cavaliers received more bad news about an hour later, when the NBA announced shooting guard J.R. Smith will be suspended two games for striking Boston's Jae Crowder with a backhanded punch. Smith will miss Games 1 and 2 of the next round.
Love averaged 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds against the Bulls this season, while Smith was at 17.3 points and shot 48 percent from 3-point range.
Cavs center Kendrick Perkins was fined $15,000 for a shove against Crowder in Sunday's contest, but was not suspended. Boston center Kelly Olynyk, who grabbed Love's left arm and probably caused the shoulder injury, was suspended for one game, to be served next season.
Short-handed talk:
J.R. Smith may have gotten two games instead of one because his history of suspensions. After Sunday's game, he was worried.
"I know I'm nervous as heck to see what could come out of this," Smith said, according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. "It's a situation I put my teammates in and it's a selfish act ... Hopefully it works out for the best."
No Kevin Love, no Smith. But the Cavaliers still have LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and others, so no team should feel too comfortable about its chances. Asked about playing short-handed, James pulled a line from a Tom Thibodeau transcript.
"If Love is out and if J.R., whatever happens with him, then it's the next man up," James said Sunday. "It's the next man up. We have guys that have been able to step up."
No lineup change:
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was asked before Game 5 if he'd consider removing Joakim Noah from the starting lineup. Through four games of the series, Noah averaged 4.7 points.
"A hard assessment to make is to jump all over the place," Thibodeau said. "We've had enough movement all year. We're always going to look at everything. (But) we've had guys in and out of the lineup all season long."
Rose moves up:
During Monday's game, Derrick Rose moved past Toni Kukoc and Chet Walker into fifth place on the Bulls' all-time playoff scoring list. Obviously, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are far and away the top two. Horace Grant is third and Bob Loe is fourth.