Shortly before 7:00 p.m. EST, Cleveland Cavaliers acting head coach Larry Drew announced that Kevin Love and J.R. Smith have been cleared to play in Friday night’s home game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Via Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
Kevin Love will start tonight against the New Orleans Pelicans and JR Smith will also play, the Cavs said.
Love took an inadvertent elbow to the mouth during the first quarter of Tuesday night’s loss to the Miami Heat. In addition to a sublux front tooth he suffered, the former UCLA standout displayed concussion-like symptoms due to the hit. He was later placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol program, which he has since cleared.
In his 53 games played for the Cavs this season, Love has turned in averages of 17.7 points on 46.1 shooting from the field (36.9 percent from beyond the arc), 9.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and just under one steal (0.9) in 28.5 minutes.
According to several reports, Smith missed Friday morning’s practice session due to an illness. However, it seems as though he’s well enough to play in Friday night’s game.
Smith, who racked up 19 points off the bench against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night, has made 73 appearances with the Cavs this season, averaging 8.3 points on 40.0 percent shooting from the field (36.9 percent from downtown), 3.0 rebounds and just under one steal (0.9) in 28.5 minutes.
In other Cavs news, head coach Tyronn Lue is expected to be in attendance for Friday night’s matchup against the Pelicans, though he won’t be calling plays. The Mexico, Missouri native has been away from the team due to health issues.
Friday night’s game is set to tip inside Quicken Loans Arena at 8:00 p.m. EST with ESPN and FOX Sports Ohio having live broadcast coverage.
