LeBron James has been suffering from a lingering left ankle injury since the second day of training camp. King James stepped on another teammate's foot while running in transition, and rolled his ankle. This injury kept him out of the Cleveland Cavaliers wine and gold scrimmage game and the first few games of the Cavs preseason. LeBron, the coaching staff, and Tyronn Lue agreed to play LeBron and see how he goes in a preseason game against the Chicago Bulls. Although he finished with a solid 17-point performance in limited minutes, he re-tweaked his ankle when performing a spin move and was advised to sit out the next game of the preseason which was their final game of the postseason against the Orlando Magic.
But although there are a few days between the end of the preseason and the start of the regular season, the Cavaliers coaching staff and King James himself are still unsure if he will be able to play in the opening game of the 2017-18 season against Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics.
But although his injury is listed as day-to-day and his status for the Opening Night game is “questionable,” Cavaliers star shooting guard Jr Smith has no doubt that the King will be alongside him and in battle on Tuesday night.
JR on LeBron: “He gonna play”
JR Smith was asked about the upcoming regular season game against the Boston Celtics to open the season, and he talked about the rivalry between the two teams.
He talked about the differences between the team with having Kyrie Irving and losing Isaiah Thomas. But JR Smith was also asked about how the game will be different on Tuesday night for not only JR but the rest of the team if LeBron’s ankle injury keeps him from playing. But Smith had a quick response, as he believes there is no chance that King James will skip the opener:
“Oh he gonna go, trust me that.
I don’t care what he got but he gonna play,” Cleveland com reported.
JR was asked why he was so sure that we will be seeing King James in the much-anticipated opening night game against the Celtics, he said:
“He loves the game… he was 8 years old when he started playing and he’s never missed a first game so I’m preparing for him to play.”
It’s obvious that this is one of the biggest games of the season for both the Cavaliers and the Celtics, so it is not a game LeBron or the rest of the guys will want to miss.
Although his ankle isn’t back to full health, with the time he has taken off and the treatment he has received, the likelihood of him playing is reasonably high, as Coach Lue said, he will be ”okay”.
He wants to play
LeBron James often gets criticised and blamed for resting games throughout the regular season in recent years. This is often due to the fans who pay for the tickets and don’t feel they get what they paid for if the King rests without an injury. But for LeBron, its always been about the bigger picture, although he rests a game here and there, he still plays all the way until the Finals each season. LeBron has played more minutes or games than anyone in the NBA over the past decade, so criticising for resting a game is just wrong.
But the fact of the matter is that the King, believe it or not, really wants to play in the season opener against the Celtics. Maybe he likes the challenge of facing their Eastern Conference rivals, or maybe he has some business to settle with a certain someone wearing green, or maybe both.
