Kevin Love had quite the Valentine’s Day. The Cavs forward underwent arthroscopic surgery on his injured left knee on Tuesday morning, which will rule him out for the next six weeks. How does this latest development affect the Cavs’ 2017 NBA championship odds? Let’s find out below.
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Cavs’ 2017 NBA championship odds post-Love surgery
Despite the news of Love’s extended layoff, the Cavs’ championship odds weren’t drastically affected in the immediate aftermath. They’re still priced at +300 to successfully defend their NBA title, the second-lowest odds behind the Golden State Warriors at -250. Cleveland is also still the overwhelming favorite to get out of the Eastern Conference at -275.
This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Yes, Love’s absence will be a blow, but his injury isn’t season-ending. He’ll be back with enough regular season to spare to get back into shape come playoff time. And even if the Cavs drop to the No. 2-seed as a consequence of his absence, they should still be favored to beat any team in the East as long as LeBron James is healthy. And remember, the Cavs were two games away from actually winning the NBA title without Love and Kyrie Irving.
Love Injury Impact on LeBron
However, James’ health could be significantly affected in this Love injury. LeBron was already one of the league leaders in minutes even with Love healthy, and you’d think he’s going to have to play as much, if not more minutes with Love gone. That’s hardly an ideal scenario for the Cavs, who need James as fresh and as healthy as possible in preparation for another long playoff run.
Of course, James could very well be a cyborg who’s just incapable of getting hurt or tired. But in the off-chance he isn’t and he goes down with an injury himself, then that would be a much more impactful injury to their championship odds than Love’s.
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