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Cavs' Nance ruled out vs. Trail Blazers; Zizic to start

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers' frontcourt continues to take hits.

The team will be without Larry Nance Jr. in Thursday's contest against the Portland Trail Blazers, as the center is dealing with right hamstring soreness. Rookie Ante Zizic will draw the start in his place, marking only the second one of his career.

The 25-year-old big man tweaked the hamstring in the third quarter of Tuesday's win over the Phoenix Suns, and didn't return. Nance downplayed the severity of the injury afterward, so Cleveland may be holding him out as a precautionary measure. He joins fellow frontcourt players Kevin Love (hand), Tristan Thompson (ankle), and Cedi Osman (hip) on the sideline.

Nance had been filling in admirably for Thompson since the latter went down with an ankle sprain, registering 14.2 points on 60.8 percent shooting, 10 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and an assist in 27.9 minutes per game over five starts. His next opportunity to play will come Saturday against the Chicago Bulls.

Related: Larry Nance Jr. dominates in 1st start with Cavaliers

On the bright side for Cleveland, Rodney Hood has been updated to active and probable to play in Portland after missing the last two games with a lower back strain. Head coach Tyronn Lue indicated Hood will be on a minutes restriction at first, and that he'll eventually start over Kyle Korver.

Cleveland is 5-6 since the All-Star break and sits fourth in the East, a half-game back of third.

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