Cavs: John Henson to miss about 2-4 weeks with reported hamstring strain; him having impact for CLE is unlikely

Cleveland Cavaliers big John Henson will miss about two to four weeks with a reported right hamstring strain, and it’s becoming more and more unlikely to see him having any legitimate impact for Cleveland.

The Cleveland Cavaliers haven’t had a healthy John Henson at all since the veteran big man was traded to Cleveland along with guard Matthew Dellavedova from the Milwaukee Bucks in the early part of the 2018-19 season.

Henson only appeared in 14 games last season, which were all with Milwaukee, and because of a reported torn ligament in his left wrist, Henson didn’t play at all for Cleveland.

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The Cavs could feasibly have not played Henson at all for precautionary reasons, even more so with the team rebuilding, but this year, it’d be nice to see Henson on the floor some in the rotation for Cleveland head coach John Beilein.

Unfortunately, Henson was not able to play at all in the preseason for Cleveland, due to a reported right groin strain and right ankle sprain.

Henson then did not play at all in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 2019-20 season opener at the Orlando Magic, but he was able to play a bit in the team’s home opener on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers.

In that one, it was a mixed bag for Henson, which was understandable, as he hadn’t played in an NBA game in so long.

He went only one-for-six on free throw attempts, but did have three points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks in eight minutes (per ESPN).

The 28-year-old has averaged 1.5 blocks in 20.1 minutes per game in his career (per Basketball Reference), and it’s clear that his 7-foot-6 wingspan could help the Cavaliers in some meaningful minutes if he’s healthy.

That seemingly won’t be the case for him again, though.

According to a team press release on Sunday, Henson will reportedly miss “approximately 2 to 4 weeks after suffering a strained right hamstring” during the Pacers game.

Henson, once again, has played a grand total of eight minutes for the Wine and Gold since he’s been traded to them.

Though Henson ideally could bring rotational rim protection and a rolling lob threat to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rotation, he just can’t stay healthy enough to contribute.

This news makes me feel so bad for Henson, and it’s becoming seemingly less and less likely that Henson can have any legitimate impact for Cleveland.

Furthermore, though when he’s healthy, Henson could have real value as a rotational rim protector for contending teams, will he ever be in 2019-20?

Even with him being on an expiring contract, it’s uncertain whether or not Henson will ever be healthy enough to have tangible trade value for Cleveland this season.

As a side note, the Cleveland Cavaliers will be without reserve big Ante Zizic until about mid-November, too, as he reportedly is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, per the team.

For now, expect Beilein and the Cavs to be playing Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson as the team’s workhorse bigs, with Larry Nance Jr. a fair amount, too, especially with Henson out of the picture in coming weeks, and potentially a month.

Once again, it’s becoming less and less likely that Henson can have any real impact for the Cavaliers, given that he just can’t get healthy in his time with the Wine and Gold.