Riding a four-game losing streak when you’re supposed to run away with the Eastern Conference is bad enough.
Seeing Tristan Thompson go down with a leg injury and leave the arena on crutches in the process makes the situation worse.
Alas, the Cleveland Cavaliers are now at this point. Thompson was ruled out of returning to their loss at the hands of the Indiana Pacers due to a calf strain, per ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin:
The Cavs say Tristan Thompson suffered a left calf strain and will not return tonight.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 2, 2017
Calf strains aren’t typically considered serious. But because nothing comes without drama in Cavs Land, Thompson apparently ended up leaving the arena in crutches:
Tristan Thompson on crutches as he heads out of the arena.
— Alex Hooper (@lexhooper) November 2, 2017
Little can be gleaned from the situation at the moment. Perhaps this was just a precaution. The Cavaliers better hope so. They’re now 3-5 after falling to the Pacers. They cannot afford to slog through a protracted stretch without one of their best defenders, their only true rim protector and their absolute best rim-runner out of the pick-and-roll.
Letting Thompson sit out a game or two might be the play here, just to see whether the calf loosens up. But if this issue turns into anything even slightly more serious, the Cavaliers will have to play musical lineups once again, all the while knowing they’ll be unlikely to improve upon their bottom-five defensive rating.
