There's been so much drama in and around Cleveland over the last month or so that it's easy to forget one big reason why the Cavaliers have been struggling on the court: they're without All-Star forward Kevin Love.
The big man fractured a bone in his left hand against the Pistons in late January. Thankfully for the Cavs, he did not end up needing surgery, but was still projected to be out for approximately eight weeks.
If it's up to Love, however, he'll be back on the court sooner than that. Now just about halfway through that eight weeks, Love is already back to taking shots on the practice court, and said he's "hoping" he can return earlier than expected. Via ESPN:
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star forward Kevin Love was back on the practice court taking mid-range jump shots Friday, four weeks after fracturing a bone in his left hand.
He is optimistic that he will return to game action before the team's stated eight-week recovery timeline expires.
"If I can get back before eight weeks, great," Love said Friday. "I'm hoping that is the case."
Obviously the Cavs' main priority will be getting Love back to 100 percent, but if he can do that in quicker than eight weeks, it will be a big boost for the team. For one, the earlier he gets back, the more games he'll have to gel with all of the new pieces the Cavs brought in since he last played. Love should be back before the end of the regular season regardless, but an extra four or five games for him and the new recruits to get used to each other would be quite helpful come the postseason.
And speaking of the playoffs, the Cavs are currently locked in a closely contested battle for seeding. As we've seen before, what seed the Cavs get isn't their biggest priority, but they're only 4 1/2 games up on eighth place. And while they would feel confident against any opponent in the playoffs, you don't want to end up having to face the Raptors or Celtics in the first round without home-court advantage if you can help it.
