Kevin Love cleared to play back-to-backs

Kevin Love is now cleared to play back-to-backs for the Cleveland Cavaliers, per Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Love underwent knee surgery on Feb. 14 and returned on March 16. In his first few games back, Love was not cleared to play on consecutive nights. Barring something unexpected, he will play Saturday against the Washington Wizards. Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Love is still on a 25-30 minute restriction.

Additionally, Love’s return to full-time status means Derrick Williams has been bumped from the Cavs’ rotation for the time being. Per Vardon’s story, Williams was informed of the decision when Cleveland was in Denver for its game against the Nuggets. His minutes started to drop when Deron Williams was signed and with Kyle Korver and J.R. Smith both healthy, his minutes have been cut further. Previously, he had been a mainstay of the Cavs’ second unit alongside LeBron James.

"I talked to him in Denver and he was great about it," Lue said per cleveland.com. "He said, 'Coach I'm just glad you communicated with me. I'm fine. Whatever you want to do, I'll be ready.' That's good when you've got communication with your players to let them know when they're going to play and when they're not going to play or when you're trying to look at new things. He was totally fine with it. Communication is a big thing."

Love being healthy is another good injury sign for the Cavs, who just recently began getting healthy. After Friday’s game against the Hornets, there are only 10 games left for the Cavs to get everything clicking before the playoffs start. And getting Love reps is a big part of that. The next step is Love getting back to playing without a minutes restriction.