Anderson Varejao’s season has ended, dealing a major blow to the Cavaliers’ NBA title hopes.
Cleveland’s starting center tore his left Achilles tendon on Tuesday night in a win over Minnesota, an injury that will cost him the rest of this season and will force the Cavs to look for immediate help up front.
The Cavs said an MRI confirmed the feared tear and that Varejao will undergo surgery “in the near future.”
A timetable for his return and rehab will not be established until after the operation.
The 2.11m Varejao, one of the team’s most popular players, was positioning under the basket for a rebound in the third quarter when he crumpled to the floor in pain. All of Cleveland’s players and coaches came over to check on him before he was assisted off the floor without putting any weight on his leg. He left Quicken Loans Arena following the game on crutches with his leg in an immobilizing air cast.
The Cavs traveled to Miami on Wednesday for a Christmas Day game against the Heat, the first regular-season matchup between LeBron James and the superstar’s former team.
Varejao’s injury has stolen some of the buzz from that game as the Cavs are dealing with an injury that could alter their season.
With Varejao out, Tristan Thompson will likely move into a starting role and the Cavs will sharpen their pursuit of another big man.
The Cavs had been looking for a rim-protecting center and have had trade discussions with several teams. Reserves Brendan Haywood and Lou Amundson could also get more playing time as first-year coach David Blatt looks for ways to compensate for the loss of Varejao, one of the league’s most unique players.
Favored to win the Eastern Conference, the Cavs have made inquiries about Denver’s Timofey Mozgov and Memphis center Kosta Koufos. Cleveland have a protected first-round pick from a previous deal with the Grizzlies they could use to land front-line help.
Varejao, who signed a three-year, US$30 million contract extension in October, averaged 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds in 26 starts.
However, beyond his stats, Varejao also contributes with his endless hustle and positive attitude.
He is one of James’ favorite teammates and the 11-year veteran has endeared himself to Cleveland fans with his energy and effort.
Varejao has averaged 7.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in his career. He has missed 166 games with injuries over the past four seasons.
During the pre-season, the Cavs went to Varejao’s native Brazil to play an exhibition against the Heat.
Varejao was greeted as a national hero in his homeland and said the trip was one of the highlights of his career.
After a slow start, the Cavs have won 12 of 15 games and Blatt has gotten more comfortable with his rotations.
Varejao’s injury complicates things and could rush the Cavs into making a major roster move well before the February trading deadline.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later