Chris Andersen is out for the season after having surgery to repair a torn ACL. Andersen, who was signed this summer to be depth at the center position and be an “enforcer” for the Cleveland Cavaliers, hasn’t had a regular role in the rotation for the defending champions but without him being able to play the Cleveland Cavaliers have a void at center.
It’s not that Andersen was just a rim-protector or an able finisher. He was a player that the Cleveland Cavaliers could depend on if Tristan Thompson, who has played in 394 regular season consecutive games was suddenly unavailable or Channing Frye, who can be schemed out of games with small lineups, wasn’t the player Lue needed to call on.