After being held out of Tuesday night’s 129-123 win over the Brooklyn Nets due to lower back soreness, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Jeff Green has been cleared to play in Thursday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, according to a report from FOX Sports Ohio’s Allie Clifton.
Prior to Tuesday’s tilt against the Nets, Green, now 31 years of age, had played in every game this season. The former 5th overall pick (2007) has made 59 appearances with the Cavs during their 2017-18 campaign, averaging 10.6 points on 48.9 percent shooting from the field (30.8 percent from beyond the arc), 3.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists, via Basketball Reference.
Green has played a key role for the Cavs this season. His calm demeanor shouldn’t be taken for granted, though. This is a man who will dunk on any opposing player if given the chance.
On Thursday evening, the Cavs announced that J.R. Smith will serve a one-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team.” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reports that the reasoning for Smith’s suspension was due to “something that happened after shootaround.” Head coach Tyronn Lue has elected to give newly-acquired shooting guard Rodney Hood a starting nod against the Philadelphia 76ers in Smith’s absence.
Thursday night’s Cavs-Sixers game is scheduled to tip inside Quicken Loans Arena at 8:00 p.m. EST with TNT and FOX Sports Ohio having live broadcast coverage. Let’s see if the new-look Cavs, winners in four of their last six games, can keep their momentum rolling without the services of one of their best marksman.
