Kevin Love listed as out for opener Wednesday vs. Hornets [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Dec. 22, 5:30 p.m. — Kevin Love is being listed as out for Wednesday’s season opener vs. the Hornets, per the NBA’s injury report.

Cleveland Cavaliers PF/C Kevin Love is looking like he won’t be able to play in the season opener Wednesday vs. the Charlotte Hornets, coach JB Bickerstaff told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. Love is dealing with a calf injury and the team is operating under the assumption he won’t be able to play. Last week, Bickerstaff wasn’t sure if Love would be able to play and it appears not much has changed since then.

The Cavaliers are pretty banged up heading into the season opener. Love isn’t looking like he’ll be able to play. Larry Nance Jr. is dealing with a concussion and may not play. If Nance does play, he is expected to start for Love at PF. Kevin Porter Jr. and Dante Exum have also been absent as of the last preseason game on Friday. Porter was due to personal reasons and Exum is dealing with hip soreness. With Love expected to be out, Andre Drummond, JaVale McGee and Cedi Osman should get the bulk of the minutes in a good matchup vs. the Hornets.

We don’t have prices on DraftKings for the 13-game slate, but this game sort of has sneaky stack potential. It’s two underwhelming offenses heading into 2020-21, but it’s also two bad defenses. Drummond should feast on the glass, especially with Love sidelined. We should also see a pretty tight rotation with all the Cleveland injuries, so there will be value in this game as well. We’ll keep you updated on Love’s status and revisit some plays when we have pricing.