Photo Credit: Bob DeChiara/ USA TODAY Sports
Cleveland swept the Celtics yesterday, but they also lost one of their biggest playmakers. Kevin Love is expected to be out at least two weeks after dislocating his shoulder. During a “bush-league” play as he is calling it, Love and Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk were going for a loose ball when Olynyk appeared to pull on Love’s left arm and yank it down.
After the game, Love commented on the play, “Olynyk was in a compromising position, had no chance to get the ball, and it’s just too bad that he would go to those lengths to take somebody out of the game and do that to someone. I have no doubt in my mind that he did that on purpose.”
Olynyk denied any malicious intent, calling the idea that he wanted to hurt Love “ridiculous”. Love’s teammate Lebron James agreed that the play seemed dirty to him, explaining, “It didn’t look like a basketball play. I’ve seen a lot of tie-ups in my day, and that tie-in was a little different. We want to play the game of basketball the right way. You want to be physical, but you never want the game to get out of hand.”
Love averaged 18.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists during the playoff series against the Celtics. His teammate Iman Shumpert dislocated his shoulder earlier this season and was sidelined for six weeks.
