Like all other teams across the NBA landscape, the Cleveland Cavaliers are working hard on the practice court to prepare for the coming season. For Saturday morning’s practice, however, the Cavs were without Rodney Hood and Tristan Thompson.
According to a report from Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Thompson missed the morning practice due to a bout of soreness in his left knee, and Hood was absent with an undisclosed illness.
Hood, now 25 years of age, will have a lot of new opportunities with the Cavs this season. It’s not clear what sort of role he’ll play yet — starter or reserve — but there is no doubt his usage rate will increase, especially when considering the fact that LeBron James is no longer on the team.
Hood made 21 appearances with the Cavs during their 2017-18 regular season campaign, racking up averages of 10.8 points on 44.2 percent shooting from the field (35.3 percent from beyond the arc), 2.6 assists, and 1.4 rebounds in 25.3 minutes per outing.
Thompson, 27, is one of the last remaining vestiges of Cleveland’s 2016 championship-winning squad (Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, and Channing Frye). Calf and ankle issues limited Thompson to just 53 games last season, resulting in career-low averages in several categories (5.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.3 blocks per game. Without a doubt, Double-T will be looking for better numbers this season.
Though the odds are stacked against them, and James is in Hollywood, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue says his team is going to compete this season.
“Of course I would love to have LeBron James, but now that he’s gone it’s going to be a new challenge,” Lue told the Boston Globe in August. “I think me and my coaching staff, we’re up for it. It’s going to be different, a lot of young guys that we can try to teach and mold them how you want them to be.”
The ailments to Thompson and Hood don’t seem to be serious, which means they should be able to recover with a bit of time off.