CLEVELAND (AP) Kevin Love dodged surgery. The Cavaliers were hit hard.
The All-Star forward will miss two months because of a broken left hand, the team announced Friday. He injured the fifth metacarpal Tuesday night during a loss at Detroit.
Cleveland’s medical staff consulted with doctors at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery on Wednesday, and it was determined Love can recover without an operation. He had surgery on his left hand in 2009 while with Minnesota and still has three screws from the procedure.
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 January in which the Eastern Conference champions went 6-8 and were blown out in several losses, leading to finger-pointing between teammates. Now the Cavaliers will be missing a major piece that helped them reach three straight NBA Finals.
Love is averaging 17.9 points and 9.4 rebounds in his fourth season with Cleveland, which hosts Houston on Saturday.
The Cavs won their first game without Love after coach Tyronn Lue started forward Jae Crowder on Wednesday against Miami. Last week, Lue dropped Crowder into the second unit and started Tristan Thompson at center with Love moving back to power forward.
Love will miss the All-Star game for the second straight year. He sat out last season following a procedure on his knee. Miami’s Goran Dragic will replace Love for the Feb. 18 game in Los Angeles.
Love’s loss will have a big impact on how the Cavs proceed as the Feb. 8 trading deadline approaches. Cleveland has had numerous conversations about potential deals, and now there is greater urgency to get something done.
Cleveland has two first-round picks, including Brooklyn’s, which the club acquired in the summer trade for Kyrie Irving.
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