The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
LeBron needs rest, but Cavs can’t afford it
The Cavaliers have six games remaining on their schedule after playing the Pelicans on March 30 at Quicken Loans Arena.
LeBron James not only has played in all 76 games the Cavaliers have played so far, but he leads the league in minutes played at 37.1 per game.
Second on the list of minutes played is Andrew Wiggins of the Timberwolves, who at 23 is 10 years younger than James. Bucks guard Khris Middleton, third in minutes played, is 26 years old.
The Cavaliers, third in the NBA East before their game with the Pelicans began, are hanging onto home-court advantage in the first-round of the playoffs by their fingernails. Their lead over fourthplace Philadelphia was a halfgame. They had a one-game lead on the fifth-place Pacers.
It would be wise to rest James for at least one game before the playoffs begin, but the Cavaliers were 4-23 when he didn’t play the past three seasons. That number hasn’t changed since he has played every game this season.
Would the Cavs order their superstar to take a night off with the grind of the playoffs so close to starting? That call will be made by Tyronn Lue when he returns to active coaching, interim coach Larry Drew said in his pregame news conference March 30.
Resting James even for one game with less than two weeks left in the regular season could mean losing home-court advantage. If he doesn’t rest his 33-yearold body, as incredibly durable
as it is, James would end up playing 110 consecutive games if each Eastern Conference series goes seven games and the NBA Finals with the Cavs in them also goes the distance.
“At this stage of the season, you’re always worried about injury,” Drew said. “You’re winding the regular season down. The last thing you want is for a key player to get injured.
“With LeBron, certainly as a staff you’re concerned about it. ’Bron is one of just those guys. He’s so durable,
and he wants to play. We have to stay the course of what we’ve been doing. When Ty comes back, he’ll make the decision as far as do we cut minutes or possibly even sit him a game. That will be Ty’s decision. When you’re preparing for the next chapter, which is the playoffs, you’re always concerned about injury, but you have to proceed as normal and hopefully you’re not faced with that situation.”
Exactly when Lue will resume his head coaching duties is unclear. He was at Quicken Loans Arena on March 30 but did not join the team on the bench.
Drew and Lue ate lunch
together March 29, Drew said. Lue, who has now been absent eight games, ate a salad. He has been told to watch his diet. He is in good spirits, Drew said.
“Ty was Ty,” Drew said. “It was good to see he’s moving in the right direction. It looks like he’ll be back to join us real soon.
“I know he’s itching to get back. He’s talked to management here in the organization and they’ve come up with a plan as far as when it’s time for him to come back, how often he’ll be around and how they want to move forward as far as him getting used to being back in the grind.”
Midway through the first quarter, James scored
on a thunderous slam dunk for his 10th and 11th points of the night. It was a milestone basket because he now has scored in double figures in 867 games — an NBA record. Michael Jordan had the record when the week began, but James tied it on March 27 in Charlotte and now has it all to himself.
Jordan, though, with six, still has three more NBA championship rings than James owns. James’ chance to win another increases if he is rested for the playoffs.