David Kenyon
LeBron James’ shoulders must be tired from carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers, because the small forward is likely to sit out the remainder of the preseason.
According to Joe Vardan of the Northeast Ohio Media Group, head coach David Blatt doesn’t expect LeBron to play in the final two exhibition contests before the 2015-16 campaign officially begins.
“I certainly don’t expect him to play both games and I don’t know if he’ll play either one. … As you know, in his great and storied career, he has amassed a lot of miles, and we’re trying to keep those preseason miles to a minimum. Thus the rest [Thursday].”
Holding James out is a perfectly reasonable way to close the final days of the preseason. He’s appeared in two of Cleveland’s five outings, tallying 22 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and six steals.
The Cavaliers will challenge the Toronto Raptors and Dallas Mavericks on Sunday and Monday, respectively, but using LeBron doesn’t do much good for him or the team.
Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are still recovering from injuries, so James’ minutes are better served going to players on the roster bubble. Although Love could return for one of the outings, he’d probably receive limited action and likely won’t go on back-to-back nights.
If Irving remains out, Tristan Thompson doesn’t sign a contract and other injuries pile up, Cleveland will need LeBron to guide the team once the regular season starts. The extra rest right now should help him carry that burden. But hey, what’s new?
