The Cleveland Cavaliers are expected to be without Kevin Love for at least two weeks after he dislocated his shoulder in a loose-ball scrap with Boston Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk.
With just under five-and-a-half minutes remaining in the first quarter, Celtics player Jae Crowder attempted a three-pointer when the ball ricocheted off the rim and landed in an open area.
In competing to grab the loose ball, the arms of Love and Olynyk became tangled, which resulted in Love’s left shoulder popping out.
Immediately, Love knew there was an issue and ran straight up the tunnel towards the locker room, while Olynyk was issued with a personal foul.
In a post-game interview, Love expressed his disgust about the incident.
“It’s just too bad he (Olynyk) would go to those lengths to take somebody out of the game,” Love said.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he did that on purpose.”
In an interview with the Boston Globe, Olynyk provided his side of the story.
“We were obviously fighting for the rebound. He grabbed my arm first. He clamped me and I clamped him back and we were wrestling for the ball,” Olynyk said.
“I’d probably get killed if I went to Cleveland right now”, he added.
Love missed seven games during the regular season, with the Cavaliers achieving a record of 3-4 without him. One of them was a 15-point loss to Chicago, who Cleveland are likely to meet in the next round.
An integral part of the squad, Love had been performing solidly for the Cavaliers, averaging 18.3 points and 9 rebounds per game, in just over 100 minutes of court-time during the first three playoff victories.
Early reports suggested Love could return within two weeks, however under further evaluation in Cleveland, Love has been ruled out of the entire Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Additionally, J.R. Smith will miss the first two games of the next playoff series, following a distasteful punch that connected with the face of Crowder in a separate incident.
While both competing for a rebound, Smith reacted poorly to a push in the back from Crowder, which prompted Smith to violently swing his arm around and collect Crowder.
Smith was issued with a flagrant two foul and ejection, while Crowder was carried off the court with a suspected knee injury.
The absence of both Love and Smith will stretch an already shallow bench. Tristan Thompson is likely to replace Love, while you’d imagine former New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert will take the place of Smith in the starting line-up.
In the end, Cleveland was still able to complete a comfortable 4-0 series sweep against Boston, with a 101-93 victory on Monday.
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