James doubtful for Cavs opener

WASHINGTON: Four-time NBA Most Valuable Player LeBron James (pic) will not play in Cleveland’s last pre-season game and is questionable for Tuesday’s season opener against Boston, said Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue.

James woke up with a sore left ankle after scoring 17 points in his first preseason appearance, a 108-94 loss to Chicago.

The 32-year-old playmaker, who led the Cavs to their first NBA crown in 2016, missed most pre-season workouts and three pre-season contests with a left ankle sprain suffered on Sept 27.

Lue said: “(James is) pretty mad, pretty pissed off. But I mean, it is what it is.”

James has not missed a seasonopener in 14 NBA campaigns, but Lue hesitated when asked about his availability against Boston next week.

“(James) got treatment all day today, so I’m not sure if we should be concerned or not,” Lue said. “But it’s pretty sore today so we’ll just see what happens.”

James said after the pre-season loss to Chicago that the game was a test to see how his ankle was recovering from the injury.

“I’m pushing through it right now,” James said. “I just wanted to try and test my foot, test my ankle to see how I would come out.

“I definitely wanted to test it knowing that at least if I tested it tonight I have a week until the regular season started.”

James averaged 26.4 points and career highs of 8.6 rebounds and

8.7 assists last season as the

Cavaliers reached the

NBA Finals, losing to

Golden State.

It was the seventh consecutive trip to the Finals and eighth overall for

James. — AFP