Kevin Love has not cleared the NBA’s concussion protocol and has been informed that he will not be medically cleared in time for Wednesday night’s Game 3.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love has not cleared concussion protocol and will not be available for Game 3 of the 2016 NBA Finals on Wednesday night.
Kevin Love has been informed that he will not be medically cleared to play in Wednesday night's Game 3, ESPN has learned
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 8, 2016
Love suffered an obvious concussion in Game 2 at Oracle Arena on Sunday night when he took an elbow to the back of the head trying to come down with a rebound in the second quarter. He tried to play through it, but was unable to take to the court in the second half of the Cavaliers’ Game 2 blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Down two games to none, not having Love available to stretch the floor with his terrific three-point stroke is a massive loss for the Cavaliers in this must-win game for Cleveland. While the Cavaliers coasted through the Eastern Conference Playoffs, Cleveland has not been able to appropriately match up with the juggernaut Warriors.
Though Love has drawn a great deal of criticism for his so-so defense and lack of offensive firepower versus Golden State, his absence in Game 3 will prove to be immensely costly for Cleveland.
Do expect stretch four Channing Frye to start in Love’s place in Game 3 on Wednesday night at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. While Frye does offer some of the similar traits that Love does, he doesn’t have the ceiling that Love does as a fringe top 25 player in the league still very much in his prime.
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Should Cleveland fall into an 0-3 hole versus the Warriors after a home loss in Game 3, one could seriously begin to believe that Golden State might pull off the sweep in the 2016 NBA Finals.
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