Last offseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers built a championship-level team by acquiring LeBron James and Kevin Love to join Kyrie Irving. However, now that the playoffs are underway, only two of these stars will be on the court. Love will likely miss the rest of the postseason with an injury to his left shoulder.
Love got his arm tied up with Boston Celtics forward Kelly Olynyk’s arm as the two of them were battling for a rebound during the first quarter of game four of their opening round series Sunday.
"I think it would be a real surprise if he we were able to participate in the postseason,” Cavs general manager David Griffin said, according to The Associated Press. “I've still got a sliver of hope very late, but highly unlikely."
Cleveland completed the sweep of Boston in Sunday’s game to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, where it will face either the Chicago Bulls or the Milwaukee Bucks.
Love’s absence will be felt in the next round. Against the Celtics, the Cavaliers’ offensive efficiency was 23 points per 100 possessions higher with Love on the court. Similarly, their field goal percentage was 11.6 percentage points higher and their 3-point field goal percentage was 17.5 percentage points higher.
"We all have to pick our own game up," James said Tuesday, reports ESPN. "We can't fill Kevin's shoes, you can't do that; he's special for a reason. We can't try to pick him up or fill his void, we have to fill each other and get up even more.”
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