On Sunday, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that they’ll be without Tristan Thompson for multiple games. The Cavaliers power forward and center sprained his ankle in Saturday’s home loss to Denver and will now be sidelined indefinitely.
Thompson had mostly been a forgotten commodity on the Cavaliers roster over the last year or so but he had been playing well while filling in for Kevin Love, who remains out. Thompson had hit double digits in rebounds for three straight games and collected seven on Saturday before injuring his ankle. Now all of the sudden the Cavs will have to do some lineup gymnastics with Love also out. Look for them to turn to Larry Nance Jr. to soak up some starters minutes or the team might opt to give Ante Zizic some burn, although he hasn’t played much for them this season.
In terms of the betting lines, don’t expect much of a change on a nightly basis. Although Thompson had become a useful piece of late, he isn’t the type of player that will impact the point spread on a nightly basis. Anyone backing the Cavaliers these days should be concerned, though. They are 23rd in terms of rebounding and are likely to sink without both Love and Thompson in the lineup.
The Cavs are once again slumping following a short burst where a trade deadline haul seemed to give them a shot in the arm. They have lost four of six, including two in a row at home. Both home losses were by nine or more, which is a bit of a concern. They’ll host the Detroit Pistons on Monday before heading out on a six-game road trip. If they can’t snap out of this slump by the end of the road trip, look for their NBA futures at BetDSI to sink a little bit as it will likely mean that the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors will be in even better shape to lock out home-court advantage in potential playoff series with the Cavs.
While the sprained ankle was a bit of a downer for Thompson, there was some positive news revealed on Sunday. Girlfriend Khloe Kardashian publicly revealed that the couple is expecting a baby girl. Previously, it was known that she was pregnant but the sex of the baby was unclear.
