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The road to the NBA Finals just got way harder for the Cleveland Cavaliers
(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)The Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the second round of the playoffs on Sunday with a four-game sweep of the Boston Celtics.
They also were dealt two major blows that will make a potential series against the Chicago Bulls their biggest challenge yet.
Kevin Love dislocated his shoulder after he got tangled up with Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk. While Love suggested the play was dirty, calling it "bush league," Olynyk said it was unintentional.
Here was the play:
Love immediately ran back to the locker room, and ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported that Love was most likely out a minimum of two weeks.
Later, in the third quarter of the game, J.R. Smith was ejected for hitting Celtics wing Jae Crowder in the face, which knocked Crowder to the ground.
Crowder was found to have a left knee sprain after hitting the ground and didn't return. Smith said after the game that he was "nervous as hell" about being suspended.
Two years ago to the day on Sunday, Smith was suspended one game for elbowing Jason Terry in the face during the Knicks-Celtics first-round matchup. His hit on Crowder looked even more malicious and, given his history, could earn him a two- or three-game suspension, as ESPN's Dave McMenamin suggested.
With Love out several weeks and Smith potentially missing the first few games of the second-round series (the NBA has yet to make an official ruling), the Cavaliers will be shorthanded in a likely matchup against the Bulls, who need one more win over the Milwaukee Bucks to advance.
Love and Smith respectively were the Cavaliers' third- and fourth-best scorers during the regular season, averaging 16.4 points and 12.7 points. They have also been the Cavaliers' best floor-spacers, shooting 37% and 39%, respectively, from 3-point range in the regular season. Though Smith struggled shooting in the first round, Love was on fire, averaging 14 points on 43% shooting from 3-point range.
Love's injury changes the Cavaliers' big-man rotation dramatically. Love's ability to spread the floor as a power forward gives LeBron James and Kyrie Irving room to drive and attack the basket. In Love's place, the Cavs may be forced to start Tristan Thompson, a good rebounder who doesn't have Love's shooting ability, which will change Cleveland's spacing on offense.
The Love injury could also force the Cavs to play LeBron, Thompson, and Timofey Mozgov huge minutes as a frontcourt trio. When they need rest, the Cavs will probably go to Kendrick Perkins, who has a -17 net rating on the court in 167 minutes this season.
This is horrible timing for the Cavs as they get ready to play the Bulls (barring a historic Bucks comeback) in what has been the most anticipated Eastern Conference matchup all season. The Bulls are finally healthy, with Derrick Rose leading the charge, and would present many matchup problems for a shorthanded Cavs team.
Though the Cavs will start with home-court advantage, if they lose just one of those first two games without Love and Smith, home court will suddenly shift to a Bulls team with momentum.
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