Cavaliers have yoga session on Saturday instead of practice

May 6, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) fights for position with Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and center Tristan Thompson (13) during the second quarter in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Cavaliers try to rest a bit in the middle of a hard-fought series.

It’s been an incredibly frustrating postseason for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After rolling through the last few months of the regular season, the Cavaliers entered the playoffs with championship aspirations. Those hopes took a major hit when Kevin Love dislocated his shoulder after getting tangled up with Kelly Olynyk of the Boston Celtics, in a play that might not have been malicious but was certainly a bit dirty.

With J.R. Smith also suspended, Cleveland split the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals at home against the Chicago Bulls. Derrick Rose then gave Chicago an all-important Game 3 victory with a casual game-winning bank shot.

The thought that Cleveland sports is just cursed has to be creeping into the mind of Cavaliers’ fans right now. To release some of that negative emotion and get his players some rest, head coach David Blatt canceled practice on Saturday and instead had the team do a group yoga session at its hotel, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

Cavs coach David Blatt cancelled practice Saturday to "get the guys off their feet." They had a group yoga session at the hotel instead.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 9, 2015

A bit of rest might do the Cavaliers some good. With Love and Smith out, Cleveland’s rotation was stretched very thin for the first two games. LeBron James and Tristan Thompson also each totaled at least 41 minutes in the back-and-forth Game 3.

A similar strategy worked for Blatt earlier this year. With the team struggling in mid-January, Blatt cancelled practice in favor of a group bowling trip. Cleveland promptly won 12 games in a row and finally played like the team everyone expected prior to the season.

We’ll see if a bit of yoga has a similar effect in Game 4 on Sunday afternoon. If the Cavaliers fall in a 3-1 hole, it might be time for another round of bowling.

More from Cleveland Cavaliers

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers