Cavs lose defensive ace Okoro for several weeks

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers will be without forward Isaac Okoro for several weeks after he suffered a sprained right shoulder.

The Cavaliers, who have the NBA’s best record at 23-4, said Thursday that Okoro sustained a sprain to his right AC joint during the third quarter of Cleveland’s Dec. 16 win at Brooklyn.

He will be reevaluated in two weeks, and the team said it will update his status and return “as appropriate.”

Okoro is one of the team’s best defensive players and has become much more dependable on offense. He is averaging 6.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 21 minutes through 23 games with 16 starts.

The No. 5 draft pick in 2020, Okoro has diligently worked on his outside shot the past two years and made great progress. He is making a career-best 49.2% of his 3-point attempts this season.

An unrestricted free agent last summer, Okoro signed a three-year, $38 million contract to stay with Cleveland in September.

While the Cavaliers could be without Okoro for the near future, small forward Max Strus is on the verge of making his season debut after being sidelined with a severe ankle injury sustained during a preseason workout.

Strus has been practicing the past two weeks and had been expected to play last week before his return was delayed.

On Wednesday, first-year Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said Strus was “awfully close” to playing. Last season, Strus averaged 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 70 starts for the Cavaliers after spending the three previous seasons with the Miami Heat.

The Cavaliers host the Milwaukee Bucks, who won the second NBA Cup earlier this week, on Friday and the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.