Cavs’ Kenny Atkinson Offers Updates On Dean Wade, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers have suddenly found themselves dealing with the dreaded injury bug, a problem that’s striking just about every team in the NBA this time of year.

Heading into Monday’s matchup with the Detroit Pistons, the Cavs were again without three key contributors: Dean Wade (knee), Caris LeVert (wrist), and Isaac Okoro (wrist). This marks the second straight game Wade will miss, the fifth for LeVert, and the sixth consecutive absence for Okoro.

Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson kept things vague when discussing the injuries but did offer a bit more clarity than we had before.

“[Wade’s injury] is more than day-to-day,” Atkinson said, leaving little to the imagination but still not giving us much to go on.

Wade’s injury occurred during Friday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, when he collided knees with Tyrese Maxey. Given the nature of the injury, it’s safe to assume we won’t see Wade back on the floor for at least a week, if not longer.

As for LeVert, Atkinson was a little more optimistic.

“That’s more day-to-day,” the coach said of LeVert’s wrist issue.

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It’s clear that the Cavaliers are being cautious, and with good reason. After all, LeVert has shown his usual flashes of brilliance this season, and they’ll want to make sure he’s at full strength before he returns.

The team’s cautious approach seems to be a direct result of what they experienced with Okoro. The third-year wing rushed back from his injury and struggled mightily with his shot in the five games since his return, which was a far cry from his fairly reliable shooting early on in the season.

“[LeVert is] still not feeling right,” Atkinson said. “The wrist is, it’s a little bit like [Okoro] with the shoulder. I think these are sensitive things when it comes to shooting the ball. And if a guy is just not feeling it, we err on the side of caution.”

The Cavaliers have a packed schedule ahead of them, including a back-to-back later this week with the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. Wednesday marks the beginning of another stretch that will see the team play five games in seven days.

The All-Star break is just around the corner, starting after their game against the Toronto Raptors on February 12. It will be interesting to see which of these injured players will be able to make a return before the time off, and how that affects the Cavs’ rotation moving forward.

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