By ZAC JACKSON
FOXSportsOhio.com
Jan. 9, 2011
Things have been bad for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They'll likely get worse now that Anderson Varejao could miss the rest of the season.
Varejao injured his right ankle and foot during practice on Thursday before the Cavaliers headed out for a five-game road trip. A follow-up MRI on Sunday in Phoenix revealed a complete tear of a tendon in the midfoot area.
The team announced the MRI results hours before Sunday night's game with the Suns and said Varejao will return to Cleveland soon for "further consultation and treatment decisions." The team statement said it was "likely" that Varejao will miss the rest of the season.
The Suns pulled away late for a 108-100 win. The Cavaliers have now lost 10 straight and 20 of 21.
Varejao, who finished third in the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, was in his first season as a full-time starting center. Varejao is averaging 9.1 points per game but is arguably the Cavaliers' most valuable player. He leads the team with an average of 9.7 rebounds per game and is the Cavaliers' best interior defender.
Cavaliers head coach Byron Scott started J.J. Hickson at center Sunday night, and Hickson responded with 23 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.
Hickson, a talented third-year player who's spent most of this season in a slump and in Scott's doghouse, spent the last half of the 2009-10 regular season starting at center after Shaquille O'Neal's thumb injury and the trade of Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Washington. Hickson started at power forward early this season before being replaced by veteran Antawn Jamison.
