It seemed like an innocuous play, but a quick slap as Kevin Love tried to wrangle an inlet pass down low has turned into more bad injury news in the NBA.
The play happened in the first quarter as the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Blake Griffin-less Detroit Pistons. Love was being defended by Anthony Tolliver and Reggie Bullock when the former was able to knock the ball out of his hands.
Love immediately reached for his left hand, and exited the game to the locker room. It was soon announced that Love had fracture the fifth metacarpal in his left hand, and that it was likely he would be out for some time.
Via Twitter:
The X-ray on Kevin Love's left hand revealed a non-displaced fracture in his left hand fifth metacarpal. Love will not return to play tonight. His status will be updated after additional examination and consultation tomorrow in Cleveland, per the Cavs.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 31, 2018
Last season, Kevin Love underwent knee surgery on Feb. 14, causing him to miss the All-Star Game on Feb. 19. This season he breaks his hand on Jan. 30 with the ASG around the corner on Feb. 18.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 31, 2018
This is a significant blow for the Cavaliers as we lose yet another All-Star from the ranks due to injury. Love is shooting 40 percent from 3-point range and has one of the best net ratings on the team.
Love could be out anywhere from 6-8 weeks, which does not bode well for Cleveland as they are already 5.5 games behind the Boston Celtics in the East and have had a rough go of it in January already.
Who will the NBA slot into Love’s spot on the All-Star team is the next concern. Andre Drummond just took John Wall’s spot. Hopefully we don’t see any more injuries like this.