DeMarcus Cousins, Kevin Love, Jason Thompson
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, battle for the ball on Jan. 11 in Sacramento.
(Rich Pedroncelli)
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio – Kevin Love expects to play for the Cavaliers tonight after missing his team's last game with back spasms.
Love, Cleveland's starting power forward, said "with how I felt yesterday in practice and then how I responded, I believe so" when asked following shootaround this morning if he thought he would suit up against the Central Division rival Chicago Bulls tonight at The Q.
Love was idle for the Cavaliers' 126-121 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Friday night at Staples Center, which put a cap on the team's five-game Western trip. But it was the night before, in a 109-102 win over the Lakers, when Love's back started acting up.
With his back tightening just before that game, Love was in obvious pain on the floor, laboring when he tried to run and walking like he had stilts for legs during timeouts.
And yet he played 37 minutes, scoring 17 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and drawing a crucial offensive foul from Jeremy Lin in the fourth quarter that helped save the game.
"It was very sore," Love said, when asked why he didn't play Friday. "Watching the film from the night before, it was pretty tough watching me labor out there. I thought the best thing to do was rest it and then the guys went out there Friday and played an unbelievable game."
Tristan Thompson started in Love's place Friday and contributed 24 points and 12 boards, catching a crisp pass from LeBron James on an inbounds play with about 47 seconds left and converted it into three points when the Cavs really needed it.
Love said he hadn't experienced back spasms until this season, when his back first tightened during a loss in Atlanta on Dec. 30. He sat out Cleveland's next game the following night.
"It's just weird," he said. "I don't know what causes it but when it does happen it's pretty paralyzing. I'm happy it's just a spasm but it's just something that's day by day.
"If it comes down to it, it's something I can play with and play on," said Love, who's averaging 17.7 points and 10.3 rebounds this season.
Also today, new Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert wore a white practice jersey -- suggesting he worked with the second unit -- and was engaging in shooting drills when reporters were allowed onto the court.
Shumpert has yet to play for Cleveland since he was acquired along with J.R. Smith in a trade from the New York Knicks on Jan. 5 because of a shoulder injury, but could return sometime this week.
The Cavaliers, at 21-20 and in sixth place in the East, begin the second-half of their schedule tonight and play their next four games at home.