The Cleveland Cavaliers announced Friday that Timofey Mozgov underwent an MRI after his shoulder injury suffered Thursday against the Bucks. The test revealed a strained shoulder, so the Cavaliers will be without another starter for 10-14 days. Cleveland is already without Kyrie Irving (knee), Iman Shumpert (wrist), and Mo Williams (ankle), who is doubtful Saturday vs. Orlando.
Mozgov's injury comes at a time when his role is being called into question. After being a huge part of the Cavs' run to the Finals last season after being traded to the Cavs from Denver, Mozgov has struggled mightily out of the gate. The Cavs have been eight points better with Mozgov on the bench per 100 possessions and 12 points worse on defense with him on the floor.
ESPN detailed how the King himself, LeBron James, has been frustrated with Mozgov's play and awareness this season:
“I think I may have to change my approach a little bit,” James said to ESPN.com. “A lot of it is predicated on how much he means to our success, how big of an impact he made once he got here last year. And when you see that type of impact, you expect it. And you expect it every single night and you expect it consistently, but I may have to change my approach how I lead him. I think I’ll figure a way out. I’ll figure another method.”
It’s clear Mozgov is testing James’ patience. When Mozgov collided withAnderson Varejao during a drill after practice this week and fell to the floor, clutching his forehead, James could be heard loudly telling a teammate, “You can’t make this s--- up,” gesturing to Mozgov laying down in the paint.
Source: LeBron James is dishing out some tough love to Timofey Mozgov - Cleveland Cavaliers Blog- ESPN.
Now with Mozgov out, the Cavs will have to make do with Tristan Thompson, so it's a good thing they shelled out in restricted free agency for the athletic big man. With Anderson Varejao playing well and Sasha Kaun hanging around, the Cavs are fine on bigs and shouldn't miss Mozgov much. Bigger picture, however, hopefully this provides an opportunity for Mozgov to reset mentally and physically, and return able to contribute like he did last season when he was pivotal to the Cavs' success.
Before all that, though, he has to recover from a painful shoulder injury that can linger.
