On Tuesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers will kick off their 2017-18 regular season campaign with a highly-anticipated matchup against the Boston Celtics inside Quicken Loans Arena.
Just days before the start of preseason play, Cavs superstar LeBron James turned his ankle in a practice session at Cleveland Clinic Courts. As a result, he was forced to miss Cleveland’s first three primer games.
James, now entering his 15th season in the NBA, made his preseason debut last week in a 108-94 loss to the visiting Chicago Bulls, where he finished with 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field, five rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal in his 30 minutes of action. However, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 Draft seemed to re-aggravate his injury on a spinning drive to the hoop during the first half. Despite the tweak, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue allowed his star player, who is well-known for his conditioning, to remain on the floor.
Now, with just two days remaining until the Cavs host the Celtics for opening night, it sounds like James’ status is still uncertain. According to a report from Fox Sports Ohio’s Fred McLeod, James did some on-court practice drills today, but when asked if he will be ready for Tuesday night, coach Lue simply told McLeod, “We’ll see.”
Without question, James has played an immense role in Cleveland’s recent success — both on and off the court. In his 74 games played for the Cavs last season, the former St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School standout posted some of the best statistical numbers of his career, averaging 26.4 points on 55 percent shooting from the field, 8.7 assists (career-high), 8.6 rebounds (career-high), and 1.2 steals in 37.8 minutes per outing.
Whether or not James will be available for Tuesday’s nationally-televised game, which will air at 8:00 p.m. EST on TNT, remains to be seen. It would be a shame if he isn’t able to square off against his former teammate in Kyrie Irving, but the season is long and one regular season game isn’t going to win the Larry O’Brien trophy.
