Last week, LeBron James missed the Los Angeles Lakers' matchup vs the Cleveland Cavaliers due to a groin injury.
Now another Cavs great is missing a game against his former team.
Just hours before tip-off, the Boston Celtics announced that Kyrie Irving will miss team's contest against Cleveland due to the flu. The 5-time All-Star scored 26 points in the Celtics' 106-99 victory over the Miami Heat on Monday night.
Irving's absence will be a welcome one for the Cavs and in particular, rookie point guard Collin Sexton. In the first meeting of Cleveland point guard's past and present this season, Irving scored 29 points in just 27 minutes in what was ultimately a 128-95 Celtics victory.
Although it's now been nearly 17 months since the Cavs dealt Irving to the Celtics in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and the draft pick that ultimately became Sexton, the former No. 1 overall pick's tenure with the team that drafted him has created no shortage of headlines recently.
Last week, Irving revealed that he had called James in order to apologize for the way he received his leadership during their three seasons together with the Cavs. Irving's phone call came days after he had publicly called out some of his younger Boston teammates following a three-game losing streak.
"This was a big deal for me, because I had to call 'Bron and tell him I apologized for being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips, and I wanted everything at my threshold," Irving told reporters. "I wanted to be the guy that led us to a championship. I wanted to be the leader. I wanted to be all that, and the responsibility of being the best in the world and leading your team is something that is not meant for many people."
In the time since, the Celtics have reeled off four consecutive wins. On Wednesday, they'll attempt to extend that streak to five -- although in order to do so, they'll have to beat the Cavs without a pair of All-Stars in Irving and center Al Horford, who is missing the contest due to rest.