Cavaliers' Mozgov may return ahead of schedule from shoulder injury

Cleveland Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov is questionable for Friday's contest against the Charlotte Hornets.

Mozgov has missed the team's last three games after sustaining a shoulder strain in last week's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, and was supposed to miss 10-14 games.

A return for Friday would be eight days after his injury.

Mozgov battled some conditioning issues after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason, and the Russian 7-footer has largely looked rusty to start the season.

He's averaging 7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 20.8 minutes per game, while shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, but the Cavaliers are 9.5 points per 100 possessions improved when he's on the bench.

Tristan Thompson has drawn three starts in place of Mozgov, and it's a safe bet he'll do so again if Mozgov sits out a fourth.