CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to get healthy ahead of the 2018 NBA Playoffs, and did everything within their power to recover from injuries, but the flu bug swept through the locker room ahead of their Game 1 matchup against the Indiana Pacers at Quicken Loans Arena Sunday.
Already affected by a foot injury, shooting guard Kyle Korver dealt with a bout of the flu that caused him to be excused from Monday’s practice, and that extra day of rest gave him the time it took to have the bug run its course.
“I’m better today,” Korver said at the Cavaliers’ training facility Tuesday. “This thing’s been travelling around our whole team, and they just didn’t want me around yesterday to kick it to somebody else. I think almost everyone’s had it by now. It’s been a nasty little bug, my goodness.”
PHOTOS: Kyle Korver, George Hill on the mend for Cleveland Cavaliers
Korver was kept out of the starting lineup in the Cavaliers’ 98-80 loss in Game 1, and between the illness and foot injury, was limited to less than four minutes of playing time and missed all three of his shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers.
“It’s getting better too,” Korver said of the foot injury. “I feel a lot better today. I felt better. The last few days, it’s gotten quite a bit better.
“It’s just been a really deep bruise, and it’s hard for it to heal when you’re pounding on it and everything. It has been quite a month for me personally. Anyway, it’s all going to get better.”
Like Korver, point guard George Hill was hampered by a back injury that stiffened up on him after being on the receiving end of an illegal screen early in the Game 1 loss.
However, Hill was able to get back on the floor for Tuesday’s practice, and should he be able to play in Game 2, Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue feels he is a difference-maker.
“Defensively, he can guard ones, twos and threes,” Lue said. “You can switch and put him on bigger guys. He can guard the post-up very well. I just think he gives us stability at the point guard position. Being able to shoot the basketball, being able to run the pick-and-roll, he’s an all-around player, a two-way player.”
After being acquired in a trade from the Sacramento Kings on February 8, Hill is hoping to get back on the floor and play a role in a deep playoff run for the Cavaliers.
“It’s a blessing for me and my family, for me and my career to get another opportunity,” Hill said.
“You never know what you’ve got until it’s gone. To be in the situation that I was, it kind of took some confidence and things like that away, but Cleveland gave me another opportunity, so I’ve just got to make the best of that opportunity.”
