Cleveland Cavaliers big man Kevin Love left during the first half of Saturday’s 148-124 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder due to an illness and did not return to play.
Love, now 29 years of age, spoke to Fox Sports Ohio’s Fred McLeod after Monday’s practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts with regards to his status for the Cavs’ upcoming game in San Antonio against the Spurs on Tuesday night. The former UCLA stand-out says he was experiencing a dizzy spell against the Thunder, but added that he should be good to go against the Spurs.
“I just got super dizzy,” Love told Nikki Goel of Cavs Nation after Monday’s practice. “Didn’t feel right, went to the bench, [Coach Lue and I] agreed I should just give it a few minutes and see if it felt right by halftime. We ended up starting Tristan [Thompson] in the [2nd half].”
Without question, Love is a key member of Cleveland’s rotation. In his 44 games played for the Cavs this season, the 6-foot-10 double-double machine has turned in averages of 18.6 points on 45.9 percent shooting from the field (40.1 percent from beyond the arc), 9.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.
The Cavs, losers in nine of their last 12 games, struggled against the Thunder with Love out of the lineup, to be sure. In fact, the 148 points that the Cavs allowed tied a franchise record for the most in regulation.
Despite their recent struggles, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue told Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal that there will be no lineup or rotational changes.
Tuesday night’s game between the Cavs and Spurs is slated to tip at 8:00 p.m. EST with TNT having live broadcast coverage.