Jeff Green out at least next two games with lower back issue

According to Cavs coach Tyronn Lue, Cavaliers forward Jeff Green will miss “at least” the next two games with a lower back issue — meaning he’ll miss tonight’s game against the Nuggets and Monday’s game against the Pistons. It is unclear if he travel with the team when it starts a long West Coast road trip next week.

Green, who missed a game earlier this week with the same issue, underwent an MRI on Saturday after the team’s shootaround. Per Lue, the doctors said Green should sit for the next few games before being reevaluated. The MRI revealed no structural damage.

Green played on Thursday against the 76ers, scoring five points in 22 minutes. His absence likely means more minutes for Cedi Osman and Rodney Hood. Lue also expects Jordan Clarkson to take on some of Green’s offensive production.

“I just think offensively it has to be Rodney and Jordan,” he said. “I think they’re two guys in the second unit that can create their own shot, they can create for other guys like [Kyle] Korver and [Larry] Nance, so we gotta just feature those two guys a lot more in the second unit and they’ve gotta be aggressive scoring the basketball.”

Lue also confirmed in his pregame availability that J.R. Smith would return to the starting lineup after being suspended for Thursday’s game. Smith was suspended for throwing soup at assistant coach Damon Jones.