CLEVELAND — Kevin Love took part in most of practice for the Cavaliers on Wednesday, moving the five-time All-Star closer to playing after missing most of the season with a calf injury.
Love has been out since Dec. 27, when he aggravated a calf strain he initially incurred in the team’s exhibition opener.
Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Love was able to do “quite a bit of the live stuff” during the workout as the Cavs, who have lost eight straight, got in a previously unscheduled practice after Wednesday’s game against San Antonio was postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak among the Spurs.
“Hopefully that’s a good sign,” Bickerstaff said of the latest step in Love’s slow improvement. “Obviously you wait and see how he responds tomorrow, but he’s making progress and he was with us for most of the day.”
The Cavs host the Denver Nuggets on Friday, a matchup arranged by the NBA after the game against the Spurs was scrapped.
Love’s return would provide a major boost for the Cavs, who have dropped 10 of 11 and are now enveloped in a situation with center Andre Drummond, who will not play as the team tries to trade the two-time All-Star, who is in the final year of his contract.