UPDATE (2:27 P.M. ET): The Cleveland Cavaliers officially have ruled Kevin Love out for Sunday’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals at TD Garden. The star forward is in concussion protocol, but did travel with his team to Boston.
STATUS UPDATE: @kevinlove is experiencing concussion-like symptoms and has been placed in the league’s concussion protocol.
He is now listed as OUT for Game 7 in Boston.
DETAILS: https://t.co/VXk3tptOwo— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 26, 2018
ORIGINAL STORY: If the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to win Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals at TD Garden, they’re going to need Kevin Love on the court.
The star forward might not be available, however.
Love left Friday’s Game 6 against the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Aena with an apparent head injury after colliding with Jayson Tatum. Cleveland went on to pick up a 109-99 victory thanks to a dominant performance from LeBron James.
After the game, The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd provided an update on Love’s status for Game 7.
Saw Kevin Love on his way out of the arena. Sounds like we'll have more answers tomorrow. He has more tests to pass before he can be cleared to play. As for his status for Sunday: "Toss-up," he said.
— Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) May 26, 2018
That’s definitely not the news Cavs fans were looking for.
If Love can’t go Sunday night, the Cavs will be pressed to replace his superior rebounding and perimeter shooting. Although at the end of the day, if James goes ballistic like he did in Game 6, it really won’t matter who’s playing around him.