Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson is expected to miss two-to-four weeks after spraining his foot, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Thompson hurt his foot five minutes into the third quarter during Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, quickly being ruled out for the rest of the game, despite getting off to a rousing start to the game.
X-rays on his foot came back negative Monday night, but the sprain will take time to heal, forcing the Cavs to adapt a next man up mentality with two of their starting big men out with injuries.
Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported Thompson underwent an MRI on Tuesday at the Cleveland Clinic, revealing no fractures, yet there is some swelling that will need to heal before he can return to the floor.
The Cavs have been forced to hold the ship steady without their star forward Kevin Love, and will now have to dig even deeper without one of their most reliable veterans in Thompson
Unfortunately, the Cavs’ acquisition of John Henson won’t pay off just yet, as the big man is sidelined for much longer; which could force Larry Nance Jr. into the starting role for the time being, with Ante Zizic and veteran Channing Frye thrusted into the backup role.
The Cavs are thin at the front lines, playing Cedi Osman at the power forward position, often outmatched by bigger and more skilled bigs.
Jaron Blossomgame could also see time as a split big, recently turning in a decent 11-point, 10-rebound double-double in Monday’s loss to the Bucks.