After Wednesday morning’s practice session at Cleveland Clinic Courts, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Derrick Rose was asked to reveal Iman Shumpert’s status for Thursday night’s home game against the Orlando Magic. His response will leave a smile on your face.
As most Cavs fans know, Shumpert underwent successful arthroscopic knee surgery on Dec. 1. The savvy defender has been recovering since then.
“Can you speak for Shump”, a reporter asked Rose. “Is he going (to play) tomorrow?”
“Nah (x5),” Rose replied with a big smile. “If anybody knows Shump, Shump speaks for himself. It may be in third-person sometimes, but it’s alright.”
Rose, 29, has been out of commission for quite some time as well, but it sounds like he could be available for Thursday’s game. However, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue would not disclose his status officially.
Shumpert has made 13 appearances with the Cavs this season, averaging 4.8 points on 38.6 percent shooting from the field, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. When he’ll truly be available for in-game action remains to be seen, but it sounds like he’s on the right path.
However, his minutes aren’t secured because of the Cavs’ depth at the guard spot. But he brings along defensive tenacity that may be the best Cleveland has to offer at his position, and that will surely play to his favor.
Thursday night’s game is scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m. EST with Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Florida having live broadcast coverage. Let’s see if the Cavs can snap out of their four-game losing streak.