CLEVELAND: Anderson Varejao departed the arena Friday night wearing a splint on his right wrist, a bad omen of more miserable news to come. By the time he arrived for Saturday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers, that splint was replaced by a soft cast and the Cavs’ surprising season took a dramatic shift downward.
The Cavs were hammered by the 76ers on Saturday 99-84, but that wasn’t nearly as crushing as the news Varejao has been lost indefinitely because of a non-displaced fracture in his right (shooting) wrist.
Varejao injured the wrist in Friday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, and X-rays at the arena were negative. The fracture was discovered Sataurday in an MRI at the Cleveland Clinic.
That type of injury would likely keep Varejao out at least a month, but the Cavs won’t offer a timeline until early next week. If he needs surgery, he could be out even longer.
It’s Varejao’s second major injury in as many seasons. He played just 31 games last year before tearing a ligament in his ankle. This season, by far the best of his career, has been stalled after 25 games.
Varejao is averaging career bests of 10.8 points and 11.5 rebounds. He has 14 double-doubles and produced his first career 20-point, 20-rebound game earlier this season. The Cavs will use Semih Erden, Ryan Hollins and Samardo Samuels in his place, but none of them do what Varejao can. He leads the league in offensive rebounds, averaging 4.5 per game, and his 11.5 rebounds rank fourth.
“There’s not many guys in the league that play with the type of energy and intensity Andy plays with. That’s what makes him special,” Cavs coach Byron Scott said. “For what he does, he’ll be hard to replace.”
That was evident immediately Saturday. The combination of the Varejao news, coupled with Friday’s draining overtime loss, left the Cavs looking weary and lethargic.
They managed just one field goal through the first 4› minutes of the second quarter, allowing the Sixers to turn a two-point lead after the first quarter into a 39-23 advantage. The lead grew to 21 in the second quarter, and the Cavs weren’t heard from again.
Erden started, but was held scoreless in 14 minutes. He did commit his standard four fouls, however. Erden looked a bit like Varejao when he spun through the lane and flipped the ball at the rim with his left hand in the third quarter, but he left the shot short. There was no second or third chance off a tip, like Varejao often provides. The Sixers simply grabbed the rebound and went the other way.
Samuels had six points and seven rebounds Saturday, and Hollins didn’t get off the bench until 5:24 remained and the Cavs trailed by 19.
“Those three guys have to be ready. It’s going to be hard to make up for everything Andy does,” Scott said. “One guy is not going to be able to do it. All those guys will have to take turns trying to fulfill that spot and that’s going to be hard.”
Antawn Jamison had 20 points and Ramon Sessions had 19 points and eight assists. Alonzo Gee had 17 points off the bench, but the Cavs simply didn’t have the energy to match one of the most surprising teams in the East. The Sixers have the third-best record in the conference.
With Varejao in the lineup, the Cavs managed to hang around the playoff race. Without him, they could tumble toward the bottom of the East. They began Saturday just 1› games out of the eighth seed, but they’re only 3› games ahead of the New Jersey Nets, who have the third-worst record in the East.
Even though he might be their most valuable trade asset, the Cavs have shown little interest in moving Varejao. If they were privately shopping him, it will be more complicated now, since there is a good chance he’ll still be sidelined when the March 15 trade deadline passes.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at http://cavs.ohio.com Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sports.abj.
