The title hopes of the Cleveland Cavaliers took a crushing blow on Wednesday, with the news that starting center Anderson Varejao will miss the remainder of the 2014-15 season after suffering a torn achilles against the Wolves on Tuesday night. Tristan Thompson will step into the starting lineup for Cleveland, which plays at Miami on Christmas Day. More details, from Yahoo! Sports:
Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao suffered a torn Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the season, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
The diagnosis came with an MRI on his left ankle on Wednesday morning.
Varejao tore his left Achilles in the Cavaliers’ victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
For Varejao, it is another in a series of leg injuries that have curtailed his career with the Cavaliers. For the team, it is a devastating loss of its best interior defender and a tested playoff performer. The Cavaliers will intensify what had already been a determined search for a center who can help protect the rim.
The loss of Varejao will move Tristan Thompson into the starting lineup for Cleveland.
Varejao signed a three-year, $30 million extension in November, which includes a partial guarantee on the final year of the contract.
