Cleveland Cavaliers had a rough start of the preseason as they are already dealing with a few injuries. While it was expected of them to have some problem with injuries, no one thought they'd be dealing with them so early, even before the regular season started. What's even more surprising is the fact that LeBron James is injured, and he is well known for his durability.
The Cavaliers forward suffered an ankle injury during a team workout last week, and he's been sidelined ever since then. James missed a few more workouts with his team and he missed the annual scrimmage game the Cavaliers hosted for their fans earlier this week.
Furthermore, the four-time MVP was sidelined for the preseason opener against the Atlanta Hawks and he missed the preseason against the Indiana Pacers.
It appears that LeBron James will be sidelined at least one more game as head coach Tyronn Lue ruled him out for the next Cavaliers' preseason game.
LeBron's ankle injury may be serious
Cleveland Cavaliers will play their next preseason game in Washington against the Wizards. The game will be played on Sunday and the Cavaliers will be shorthanded once again. Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com reported that coach Lue ruled LeBron out for this game, and Cleveland will also miss a few more players.
LeBron will not play Sunday in Washington, Lue said
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) October 7, 2017
Beside LeBron James, the Cavaliers will be without Isaiah Thomas and Iman Shumpert.
While Thomas will be out for a few more months, Shumpert could be back in a week. The guard suffered an ankle injury during the first preseason game against the Hawks.
While it's just a preseason and fans shouldn't worry about results, the Cavaliers are 0-2, which is definitely a bad sign. They lost to two mediocre teams, but hopefully they will get better when it counts most.
The Cavaliers used to rely a lot on LeBron James and they'd perform poorly when he's out. If it turns out that his injury is serious, Cleveland definitely won't have a good start of the season.
James could be just resting
Considering it's just a preseason, the Cavaliers may be just giving a well-deserved rest to LeBron. His ankle definitely needs to heal while James needs to be ready for the upcoming season.
Furthermore, the NBA won't allow the Cavaliers to rest James during a regular season, so giving him some extra rest during the preseason is not a bad idea. Cleveland will open their regular season on October 17 at home, and their opponent will be the Boston Celtics.
