LeBron James downplays preseason matchup vs Miami Heat

LeBron James tries to take some focus off of match up with Heat

While every basketball fan has their eyes on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Christmas day match up against the Miami Heat, LeBron James and his Cavs actually face-off against his former team much sooner than that.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland and Miami will meet Saturday in Brazil for a preseason match up. LeBron did his best to downplay the importance of the preseason match up against the team he led to four straight titles starting in 2010.

From ESPN’s Dave McMenamin:

"“It’s not much of an issue for me going up against Miami, I think,” James said. “It’s a preseason game. It’s in Brazil so it’s not really on an NBA floor, as well. But it gives us an opportunity to keep on continuing to broaden the game in a huge, worldwide aspect and it will be great for both teams.”"

Although James’ new coach David Blatt acknowledged the obvious storyline for the game, he too de-emphasized the meaning of the game.

"While Saturday’s matchup (5 p.m. ET, ESPN) certainly has more juice behind it than a typical exhibition affair, Blatt said the game’s location in Brazil away from Cavs fans, Heat fans and most major media outlets will take some of the edge off the meeting.“I think it takes the pressure off of both sides, actually,” Blatt said. “I really do.”"

James and Blatt are right. This game won’t garner nearly the attention of the Christmas day tilt for a variety of a reasons, a few of which Blatt alluded to. But surely many NBA fans will be interested in seeing how James and his former teammates interact with one another, making it easily the most anticipated preseason matchup this year.

LeBron signed with with the Cavaliers this offseason after spending the past four seasons with the Heat.

More from FanSided

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers