The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced that rookie guard Dylan Windler will miss the remainder of the season due to injury.
There always seemed to be a moving timeline on when/if Dylan Windler would make his debut. It was just over a week ago that Windler was mentioned as “moving towards on-court activities” per Kelsey Russo of The Athletic. Even after the evaluation, the Cavaliers announced that Windler will miss the rest of the season due a stress reaction in his leg.
As Sam Amico mentions, Dylan Windler did not miss a game in four college seasons. Windler only missed two games in high school. This is not appear to be a durability issue. More than likely this looks like an isolated injury. This particular injury just happens to result in a lost rookie season for Windler.
The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Dylan Windler with the 26th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Windler’s final two seasons at Belmont were his most productive. Averaging 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in 35.4 minutes per game as a junior and 21.3 points and 10.8 rebounds in 33.2 minutes per game as a senior. Dylan Windler had a near identical 3PT% in his junior (42.6%) and senior (42.9%) seasons. This is why the Cavaliers identified him as a target in the draft.
It is possible that if Windler was able to play this season that Cleveland’s three-point percentage would be a bit better. The Cavaliers are one of the worst teams in the NBA when it comes to this. Perhaps next season Dylan Windler will be able to impact not only their effectiveness from deep, but be able to provide some wins as well.
