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5 Reasons The Cleveland Cavaliers Aren’t Locks To Win The East

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 22, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 126-113. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 22, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 126-113. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Nov 23, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love (0) and guard J.R. Smith (5) celebrate a three point basket in the first quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Lingering Injuries

As of right now, the Cleveland Cavaliers have everyone but Andrew Bogut available to them. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be entering the postseason 100 percent healthy, however.

Though there are still three weeks of regular season left to shake off rust and make sure everyone’s batteries are fully charged, the Cavs have several key players trying to rediscover their rhythm and get past recent injuries.

This headline came from January, and matters haven’t really gotten much better since:

J.R. Smith has been back for eight games after missing 11 weeks with a thumb injury, but since he’s returned, he’s averaging only 6.9 points per game on an abysmal 29 percent shooting from the field and 24.5 percent from three-point range.

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    • That’s nowhere near the 12.4 points per game on .415/.400/.634 shooting splits he put up last season.

    Kevin Love put up a promising 21 points and 15 rebounds in just his second game back after missing 13 games following arthroscopic knee surgery, but in his other two games, he’s posted just 19 points and 16 rebounds combined.

    Given his propensity for injuries over the past few seasons in Cleveland (and his entire career, for that matter), it’s not a good sign he’s already trying to shake off injury-related rust.

    Bogut is done for the year after looking like a solid source of frontcourt depth, rim protection, rebounding and passing. Kyle Korver recently missed seven games with a foot injury, and shot just 3-for-9 from the floor in his first game back.

    This could be much ado about nothing, but all these players missing games has put extra strain on LeBron James’ NBA odometer, and will continue to do so if these nagging injuries rear their heads again over the next month or two.

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