LeBron James to sit out regular season finale vs. Raptors
Even with home-court advantage still technically at stake, LeBron James will sit out the Cavaliers’ final game.
The controversy over healthy NBA players resting is not going away, and the words and actions of LeBron James have been on both sides of it. The Cleveland Cavaliers have fallen out of the top spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, after a loss to the Miami Heat Monday night where both James and Kyrie Irving sat out.
With a win over the Toronto Raptors in Wednesday night’s regular season finale, and a Boston Celtics’ loss to the Milwaukee Bucks that same night, the Cavaliers can secure home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. But that is apparently not enough to create urgency for James to play, and he will reportedly sit out a second straight game to rest for the playoffs.
LeBron James will not play in Wednesday's season finale against the Raptors, per a team source. Kyrie Irving is a possibility, however.
— Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) April 11, 2017
James is reportedly dealing with a right calf strain, while Irving continues to be hampered by knee tendinitis. If this were the playoffs both guys would surely be playing through their injuries, but it’s pretty clear rest and being as healthy as possible is taking priority over playoff seed for the Cavaliers.
James is having one of the best years of his career, including career-highs in rebounds (8.6) and assists (8.7) per game. But he will also finish with the highest turnover rate of his career (4.1 per game), which stands as a red flag when things tighten up in the playoffs.
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The biggest issues for the Cavaliers are a notable allergy to playing defense since the All-Star break, and a 26-23 record since Jan. 1. Another run to the NBA Finals will put all of that on the back burner though, even if it comes after being the No. 2 seed in the East.