Kevin Love Injury: Cavaliers Star Will Play vs. Nets

Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love will play on Friday against the Brooklyn Nets, the team announced.

Love had been out since Dec. 20 due to a knee injury.

"He took a blow to the knee, knee-to-knee, and it swelled up on him, and it's kind of stiff," coach Tyronn Lue explained.

The injury first occurred on Dec. 17 against the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Cleveland also played without Love last week while resting him and LeBron James against the Memphis Grizzlies.

From a statistical perspective, Love's second season in Cleveland represented a minor improvement over his first. According to Basketball-Reference.com, his player efficiency rating climbed from 18.8 to 19.0, and his points per 36 minutes rose from 17.5 to 18.3. Love's .419 field-goal percentage was the second-worst of his career, though.

Of course, that didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things after Love helped the Cavaliers win an NBA title. And his defending on Stephen Curry in the dying moments of Game 7 undoubtedly had a role in Cleveland clinching the victory.

The Cavs' Finals win helped silence the questions about Love's future in Cleveland and allowed him to find a nice comfort zone with the team.

Buoyed by the championship momentum, Love is looking more like his old self. Prior to the injury, he was averaging 22.3 points and 10.7 rebounds a game and knocking down 41.2 percent of his three-point attempts.