The Cleveland Cavaliers have played three preseason games so far, against the Atlanta Hawks, the Indiana Pacers, and the Washington Wizards. But without the overarching leadership of LeBron James, they have struggled, losing all three of their contests. Despite impressive games from new players including Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Jae Crowder and Jeff Green, the reserve players haven’t been able to hold their own down the stretch of games when the key guys rested. And the Cavaliers have often given up leads and lost to teams due to their lack of offensive and defensive production in the fourth quarter.
A huge reason though for the losses, is quite obviously, the absence of LeBron James. In the past three years, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been historically bad, combining to have a worse record than any teams in the league when the King does not play.
After suffering a little ankle sprain at the start of training camp, LeBron James was advised to sit out of the wine and gold Cleveland Cavaliers scrimmage game along with the first three games of the preseason. The Cavaliers were very cautious with the injury although it wasn’t that serious, and just let the King rest for a few weeks. But fans have been anxious, and it looks like we will finally see James in action for the first time entering his ‘savage’ season number 15.
King James will be in action on Tuesday
The Cleveland Cavaliers will play their fourth preseason game on Tuesday night at 8 pm when they host the Chicago Bulls at the Quicken Loans Arena. This will be the only preseason game for the Cavaliers that will be televised on national TV. Tyronn Lue decided to play everyone that was healthy in the first two preseason games but decided to give the majority of the Cavaliers best players rest on Sunday afternoon against the Washington Wizards.
Although Isaiah Thomas, LeBron James, and Iman Shumpert were listed as unavailable due to injuries, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, J.R. Smith, Jae Crowder, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson were all held out for rest purposes. Coach Lue decided to do this for him to be able to play with some of the main guys when he returns to action on Tuesday so that some chemistry can be created between James and the new guys.
LeBron will play on Friday also
LeBron will also play along with the main guys that rested against Washington on Friday against the Orlando Magic. This will be the Cleveland Cavaliers last game of the preseason before they officially prepare for the 2017-18 NBA regular season. Coach Lue plans to play everyone except Isaiah Thomas (hip) and Iman Shumpert (left foot) during this game. He wants James to get back on the court and loosen himself up before the real season starts. Tyronn is also eager to get LeBron James back to the court as he wants chemistry to be gained between number 23 and the new guys in the form of a real professional basketball game rather than practice. These new guys which include Derrick Rose, Jae Crowder, Jeff Green, Cedi Osman, Jose Calderon, Ante Zizic and John Holland have never played alongside LeBron in any game during their career, but the chemistry between James and Wade should be restored rather easily.
