Could Jimmy Haslam swap the Browns for the Titans?
March 23, 2015Please just stop with the Kevin Love nonsense: While We’re Waiting…
March 24, 2015With the wine and gold quickly coming down the home stretch of the regular season and maintaining their spot in the top tier of the NBA, fan favorite and injured center Anderson Varejao would obviously love to make a comeback for the (hopefully long) playoff run. With a torn Achilles, Varejao was ruled out for the remainder of the season – a blow that cut through the hearts of Cleveland fans. Not only is he a fan favorite, but he just cannot seem to stay healthy for an entire 82-game season.
He told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group that he contemplated attempting a return this season.
“I wanted to give it a try, but I’m being told to continue my rehab so I can be ready for the start of next season. It’s hard. I want to play. I’m progressing, but I’m going to listen to the team. They have my best interest.”
When Anderson Varejao went down with what seemed to be a serious foot injury on a snowy December 23 in Cleveland against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the city of Cleveland knew that it did not look good. Varejao unfortunately has been hurt more times than many can count since his career started in Cleveland in 2004. That night, the Cavaliers were 17-10 and coming off a three-game winning streak. But with Varejao going down, they were without a true center and had to lean on Tristan Thompson to play the majority of the minutes down low.
Obviously, the current Cavs team has changed drastically since Varejao went down. The fact that Cleveland has since acquired big men Timofey Mozgov and Kendrick Perkins has made it easier for the Cavaliers to be without Varejao. His energy and toughness, however, is definitely missed. Plus, they are without a fan-favorite, who was the heart of this team when he was on the court.
Returning too early from an Achilles injury would be a major risk to the remainder of Varejao’s career. Obviously, his competitive nature believes that he could potentially take the chance and come back for the playoffs. But, Cavaliers head coach David Blatt and the medical staff have talked Varejao out of making a return this season.
“They’re going to go step-by-step and Andy will try to push the envelope. And since he’s not going to come back this year, we will not allow him to,” Blatt said. “We’ll take him through the process and try to make sure he heals completely for the beginning of next year. The thing about Andy, he’s just that kind of a guy. He wants to come back and he wants to get out there, but obviously this year is not the time for him to do that. So, we’ll go along with his excitement and rein him in when necessary.”
Varejao currently attends home games and is the team’s biggest fan when they are playing at Quicken Loans Arena. But, not being able to play is obviously tough for him.
The good news is that Varejao is no longer wearing a boot on his foot. Since he cannot play, Varejao hopes he can bring energy and be a voice on the Cavaliers bench and in the locker room. Varejao’s experience and defensive tenacity could help the big guys (Mozgov, Thompson, Love, and Perkins) out and show them how they can give a more consistent effort. Since he cannot play, he tries to remain as close to this team as possible.
“Man, it’s tough,” he said, “but I’m going to keep working and being supportive. I miss playing, but I’m happy we’re winning,” he said. “That helps.”
Hopefully, Varejao will come back no worse for the wear and contribute to the frontcourt depth for the 2015-16 season.
5 Comments
Nice article, however, the Cavs played the T-Wolves at home on Dec. 23rd.
any chance Brad Daugherty would allow Andy to use his retired #43 when he comes back?
Looking forward to having Andy as a backup center next year. It will be a real boon for overall depth. Hopefully limiting his minutes a bit will help keep him healthy.
Would have been even sweeter to have #17 out there this season especially since he would most likely be in the role he’s needed to be for the past three years and that is coming off the bench.
Thanks, Sam. For some odd reason I could have sworn the box score said the game was in Minnesota when I looked back at it while writing the story