Cavs' Dylan Windler suffered fractured hand in season opener

Cavaliers swingman Dylan Windler fractured the fourth metacarpal of his left hand after suffering a fall during the third quarter of Cleveland’s season opener on Wednesday night, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Windler will be re-evaluated in a week, and a timeline projection for his return to game action could be made after that. The Cavaliers would not divulge whether the fracture was displaced or non-displaced, which can affect recovery time.

Fedor notes that the average amount of time missed due to a fourth metacarpal fracture has been about 15 games since the 2005-06 season.

Last season, Raptors forward Norman Powell suffered the same injury and missed about a month of action, while then-Celtics forward Gordon Hayward missed 13 games after incurring the same fracture.

Drafted with the No. 26 pick out of Belmont in 2019, Windler missed the entirety of the 2019-20 NBA season after suffering a left lower-leg stress reaction at the beginning of the year. In his first nine minutes NBA action before the injury, Windler made one three-pointer and notched two steals. The Cavaliers went on to beat the Hornets in a 121-114 victory on Wednesday night.