The Cleveland Cavaliers were in the practice gym on Wednesday morning preparing for their upcoming Game 2 matchup against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. However, one member of the Cavs was not in attendance.
According to a report from ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Rodney Hood was excused from the session for personal reasons, though he is still expected to play on Wednesday night.
Hood, now 25 years of age, has become an important piece in Cleveland’s metaphorical puzzle since he joined the team prior to the trade deadline. The former 23rd overall pick (2014) played in 21 games with the Cavs during their regular season campaign (11 starts), averaging 10.8 points on 44.2 percent shooting from the field (35.2 percent from beyond the arc), 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.7 steals in 25.3 minutes per.
As a starter, Hood logged 21 minutes in Sunday’s 98-80 loss to the Pacers, scoring nine points on 4-8 shooting (1-4 from downtown), two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Hood wasn’t the reason Cleveland lost on Sunday, though they’d like to have a bit more from him. Cleveland went 8-of-34 from beyond the arc and missed eight of their 20 free throw attempts. And making things a bit worse, Hood, Kevin Love, Jeff Green and George Hill combined for 25 points.
Several Cavs players took some time to work on their three-pointers with assistant coach Phil Handy during Tuesday’s practice session at Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Hood and the Cavs will face the Pacers in Game 2 on Wednesday night inside Quicken Loans Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. EST with TNT, FOX Sports Ohio and FOX Sports Indiana having live broadcast coverage.