Cavaliers' Kevin Love closer to return from calf injury

The Cleveland Cavaliers certainly could use five-time All-Star forward Kevin Love, who has been out of action since he reaggravated a right calf strain during a win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Dec. 27. 

Cleveland has lost 10 of 11 games (eight straight) and fallen to a woeful 10-19 overall, and the Cavaliers are sitting center Andre Drummond as they try to trade him before the March 25 deadline. Love, meanwhile, began individual basketball activities earlier this month and practiced with the Cavaliers on Wednesday. 

"Hopefully that's a good sign," Coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after watching Love practice, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "Obviously you wait and see how he responds tomorrow, but he's making progress and he was with us for most of the day." 

Love averaged 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists across less than two full games before he was sidelined indefinitely ahead of the start of the new year, and there remains no definitive timetable for his return. In a piece published on Jan. 26, Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz wrote that the Cavs "would have to take a loss" to ship the 32-year-old to a contender before the upcoming trade deadline. It's widely assumed Love will stay with Cleveland through at least the end of the season.