Is Caris LeVert playing tonight for the Cleveland Cavaliers?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have one of the NBA’s gnarliest combos, the road back-to-back. What’s more, they aren’t exactly in the same general area, as the Cavs have to fly from Indianapolis to Washington, D.C. to take on the Washington Wizards tonight.

The Cavs won yesterday in Indiana, giving them their first two-game winning streak in over a month. Can they keep that momentum going against the Wizards? And will they have Caris LeVert available tonight to help them do so?

Caris LeVert injury update (Updated February 6th)

Note: This will be updated closer to tip-off at 7:00 pm ET with the official word on Caris LeVert’s injury status.

Caris LeVert has missed the last two games for the Cleveland Cavaliers nursing a hamstring injury, including yesterday’s game against the Indiana Pacers. He was questionable earlier in the day before being ruled out a few hours beforehand.

Given that he was ruled out prior to warm-ups means he wasn’t particularly close to playing. The Cavs are otherwise fully healthy and best equipped to weather his absence, so put all of that together and it seems unlikely LeVert plays tonight.

As of 4:00 pm ET, LeVert is officially listed as questionable for tonight’s game. In addition, Ricky Rubio was ruled out today as rest for his return from his ACL tear:

Caris LeVert has been coming off the bench for most of the season after an early-season experiment of starting him at small forward did not yield the best results. Where he has been useful in the starting lineup is filling in when either Darius Garland or Donovan Mitchell have been injured. Both are healthy now, however, which relegates LeVert to a bench role as something of a “Sixth Man” for the Cavs.

LeVert’s absence is an interesting one because he is also at the center of trade rumors. The Cavaliers have played extremely well without LeVert over the past two games, and it’s no secret that his skillset is duplicitous with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Does LeVert’s injury make it harder to trade him this week? Or will the Cavs play it safe to ensure he’s healthy to pass a physical if he is dealt?

LeVert is a talented player and in a vacuum the Cavs would rather he be healthy than hurt. That being said, they are in good shape to play with him out of the lineup, and that could lead to a slow return.