Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James turned his ankle in a practice session just days before the start of this year’s NBA preseason campaign. As a result, “The King” was forced to miss the Cavs’ first three primer games.
James made his return to the floor on Tuesday night, when the Cavs served as hosts to the Chicago Bulls. In 29 minutes of playing time, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 Draft turned in 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field, five rebounds, three assists, one block, and one steal. However, he also racked up eight turnovers and a plus/minus score of -18. James later admitted that he’ll need to play better.
As a precautionary measure, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue has decided to give James the rest of this week off, despite the fact that the team has one preseason game remaining (at Orlando on Friday night).
After today’s shootaround at Cleveland Clinic Courts, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue was asked if James will be ready to play in the team’s season opener against the Boston Celtics. According to Joe Vardon of cleveland.com, the answer was a bit foggy.
There is no doubt that James has played a huge role in Cleveland’s recent success. In his 74 games played for the Cavs last season, he 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.
It will be a shame if James isn’t able to square off against his former teammate (Kyrie Irving) on opening night. Maybe a week’s rest will be just what the doctor ordered, as the old expression goes.
