They may not always see eye to eye, but Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James agreed with the recent pronouncement made by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green this time. Green told Sam Amick of USA Today that Cavaliers fans should be concerned about the bulk of minutes being played by James this season. Green believes that the minutes will eventually take their toll on James’ health and performance as the season rolls along. Green said James may be super human now but his powers will go away eventually. As of now, James leads the NBA in minutes played with 38.1 per game.
In six games this season, the 32-year-old James played 40 minutes or more.
James hopes his minutes will go down
“Draymond's right," James told Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. James added that the team would reduce his minutes if the Cavaliers go back to full health. Also, James said he has to play more minutes due to different lineup changes they’ve made in the past several games. The Cavaliers (8-7) are currently playing without point guards Isaiah Thomas and Derrick Rose and center Tristan Thompson. James is hopeful that his playing time will be reduced once Thomas, Rose, and Thompson return to playing, adding that the Cavs will get “more firepower.” There is no timetable for Rose’s return from an ankle injury, while Thomas is hoping that he can play in January.
Thompson is out for one month due to a left calf strain.
James leads Cavs past Hornets
James played 37 minutes in their 115-107 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, recording 31 points, six rebounds, and eight assists as the Cavaliers notched a third straight win. Kevin Love added a double-double with 22 points and 10 boards, Jeff Green had 13 points and seven boards, Kyle Korver chipped in 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, and JR Smith contributed 10 in the Cavaliers’ win.
All players (fielded by coach Tyronn Lue) contributed on offense, with Channing Frye scoring nine points and Iman Shumpert and Dwyane Wade adding seven points each.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist led the Hornets (5-8) with 22 points, Kemba Walker had 20 points and seven assists, while Nick Batum had 16 points in his first game since suffering a torn ligament in his left elbow in October.
Jeremy Lamb added 13 points off the bench while foul-plagued center Dwight Howard scored just eight points and pulled down five rebounds in 23 minutes of play as the Hornets suffered a fifth straight loss.