Cavaliers to be without four players vs Bulls

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without Tristan Thompson, Darius Garland, Dante Exum, and Kevin Porter Jr.in their matchup with the Chicago Bulls.

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be shorthanded yet again. Cleveland will be without four key players as they take on the Bulls in Chicago Tuesday.

Tristan Thompson left Sunday’s overtime win over the Spurs with an eye injury. Thompson is just the latest Cavs player added to the lengthy injury report. J.B. Bickerstaff may decide to have Larry Nance Jr. play a large amount of minutes yet again. Nance was on the court for just over 43 minutes in their overtime win over San Antonio Sunday.

Dante Exum is still working his way back from his ankle injury. If Exum is a able to return and contribute this season it would be a bonus.

Kevin Porter Jr. remains in concussion protocol. Porter is out indefinitely due to this injury. Concussions are not easy when putting together a timetable for return. No two people are alike when it comes to the recovery process. Hopefully Porter is able to return at some point this season, but it is important not to rush him back to play in meaningless games. It is about the big picture and longterm future in Cleveland for Porter, not participating in games for the team with the second-worst record in the league.

Darius Garland remains out which means that fan favorite Matthew Dellavdedova will continue see the increase in playing time. In the past four games Delly is averaging 9.5 assists per game, including 25 in the past two games. Dellavedova even set a career-high with 14 assists in Saturday’s win over Denver. The insertion of Delly into the starting lineup has helped the Cavaliers win two consecutive games against far superior opponents.