How a change in diet may be keeping Caris LeVert on the floor for the Cavs

A change in diet may be partly to thank for the availability of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert lately.

“Aside from a sore knee that cost him four straight games in early December and eight overall, LeVert has been a stabilizing mainstay of what’s turned into a reliable group,” Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor wrote.

“There’s no reason to think that will change, especially with his knee pain alleviated thanks to an unorthodox solution.

“LeVert hasn’t adopted a special treatment plan. He hasn’t altered his conditioning. He hasn’t even introduced a different workout regimen.

“It’s a new diet. A self-proclaimed bread lover, LeVert has gone gluten free.

“‘It’s been working. It’s been helping,’ LeVert said. ‘Shout out to Kylene [Bogden], our nutritionist. I listen to whatever she says. She brought it up. I told her what I had been eating and it’s something she wanted to try. We tried it and my knee has been pretty quiet.'”

The 29-year-old signed a two-year contract with Cleveland in the 2023 offseason following a productive 2022-23 season with the team.

LeVert has appeared in 28 of the Cavaliers’ 36 games so far during the 2023-24 regular season and is averaging 16.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from behind the 3-point line.

He has proven to be a consistent scorer for the Cavaliers this season and has reached double digits in scoring in five out of his last six games, with the one exception being when he scored just six points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 29.

The guard starred in Cleveland’s most recent game against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. He scored the second-most points of any Cavalier with 23 in 26 minutes of playing time off the bench. LeVert also contributed two rebounds, three assists and two steals in a game the Cavaliers won by two points.

Big man Jarrett Allen led Cleveland in scoring with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field to go along with 16 rebounds and one block in 31 minutes of action.

LeVert and the Cavaliers’ win over the Spurs marked the team’s third consecutive victory. Before defeating the Spurs, Cleveland beat the Washington Wizards on Jan. 3 and again on Jan. 5. Both of the team’s wins against Washington came by double digits.

The Cavaliers now own a solid 21-15 record, which is tied with the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks for the fourth-best record in the entire Eastern Conference.

Next up on the regular-season schedule for LeVert and the Cavaliers is a matchup against Mikal Bridges and the Brooklyn Nets on Jan. 11 in Paris. The Nets haven’t been playing their best basketball of the season over the last few weeks, as the team owns just a 3-7 record over its last 10 games.