When the 2015-2016 season began, there were a lot of talks about keeping LeBron James as fresh as possible for a deep playoff run. Rightfully so, as he came off a very exhausting 2015 postseason where he had to carry the team on his back with all the injuries to its stars; not to mention that he already holds an extremely high amount of mileage over the course of his career.
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This plan involved a couple of things; limiting his minutes and giving him a few nights off.
The first one has been successful so far with James averaging a career low 35.9 minutes per contest after 52 games. The second goal, however, has yet to be realized. The Cavaliers had a plan for him to sit out on some nights, giving consideration to travel time and the number of days off in between games, but he has done so only once when the Cavs visited the Miami Heat.
In his recent article for Cleveland.com, Joe Vardon shared head coach Tyronn Lue’s comment on when LeBron James could get his much deserved rest.
“I talked to our team about the most important thing right now is to try and get home-court advantage for the East. Toronto’s playing great basketball, I think they’re 3 games behind us. If we can get a little bit of a cushion, then we can try to rest LeBron a lot. Just try to get him a couple games here and there, try to take the wear and tear off his body.”
LeBron James did start the season taking an injection to his back, but fortunately, we have not heard of anything about him requiring another shot. It seems that, in this case, no news is good news.
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Cleveland currently hold the East’s top spot, with a three-game lead in the standings over the second placed Toronto Raptors. It may seem like a comfortable lead, but the Raptors are on a surge as of late. They may not overtake the Cavs, but they will be close behind and that is not a good omen for the Cavaliers superstar’s planned rest.
