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| The injury is a major blow to both the Cavs and Varejao: The Cavs, because he is their best frontcourt player by far and himself, because prior to the injury, he was having a ridiculous career year and was probably headed to an All-Star appearance |
Some bad news was released yesterday for one of the more up-and-coming bigmen in the NBA.
Anderson Varejao, who is averaging a career-high 14.1 points and 14.4 rebounds per game (in 25 games) this season, will miss the rest of the year due to what is known as a small right lower lung pulmonary embolism. According to a Cavaliers press release, the center was admitted to the world-famous Cleveland Clinic on the 17th for observations and will have to take blood-thinning medications for at least three months to combat the blood clot he is currently suffering from.
The brutal setback is just another tough break the Brazilian has had to face this year as he suffered a knee injury in a December 18th game against the Toronto Raptors which led to a six-to-eight week estimated recovery period. It was not specified if the knee injury or the surgery that followed had anything to do with the embolism but without any medical knowledge myself, I do not want to leap to any conclusions.
It was widely rumored that Cleveland was looking into possibly trading Varejao in the months before his knee injury but now with the graveness and seriousness of the knee and lung problems, it is highly unlikely any team would want to take on the rest of his contract, knowing his health history.
When he — hopefully — returns next season, it appears that he will be firmly entrenched in the Cavs' lineup for the long haul, which depending on his health in the future, could either be a boon or piece of bad news for the rebuilding organization.
