It’s well over a month into the 2023-24 NBA season, which means that most teams are dealing with some injury issues at this point, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are no different.
#Cavs Caris LeVert (knee) did not practice today. Dean Wade (ankle) did practice.
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) December 4, 2023
After missing Cleveland’s 110-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday due to a knee injury, guard Caris LeVert didn’t practice with the team on Monday. As such, his status for Cleveland’s next game against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night is unknown.
Meanwhile, forward Dean Wade was able to go through practice on Monday after missing Cleveland’s last six games with an ankle injury. Barring a setback, he could be good to go against Orlando.
Both players get significant minutes for Cleveland, so Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff will obviously be eager to get both back. On the season, LeVert is averaging 14.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 30.4 minutes per game, while Wade is averaging 3.1 points and 4.1 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per performance.
Nearly a quarter of the way through the current campaign, the Cavaliers sit eighth in the Eastern Conference and have a record of 11-9. They started slowly, winning just one of their first four games, but they’ve been playing better basketball as of late as they’ve won seven of their last 10.
Cleveland will need to continue to improve if it hopes to gain ground in a very competitive conference. The Boston Celtics have established themselves as the East’s top team early on, but other squads like the Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers also all appear to be very formidable.
Ideally, the Cavs would like to avoid having to go through the league’s annual play-in tournament to secure a spot in the playoffs. In order to do that, they’ll have to finish in the top six in the standings. They’re currently a couple of spots away from that position, but it’s certainly not time to panic, as there’s still a whole lot of ball left to play during the regular season.
Cleveland does have a pretty tough stretch of schedule coming up, though. After their home matchup with the Magic, the Cavs will hit the road to play against the Miami Heat on Friday. After that, they’ll have another game against Orlando followed by two straight games against the Celtics.
