LeBron James in, Kyrie Irving out for Cavs preseason opener
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — LeBron James will play and Kyrie Irving won’t in the Cavs’ preseason opener Wednesday night, coach Tyronn Lue said.
The Cavs host the Orlando Magic at 7 p.m.
Irving is coming off a run to Olympic gold, and the Cavs are trying to rest him this preseason. They also want to sit James — Lue said his plan was to play most of the regular rotation players in Cleveland’s three home exhibition games.
Yes, Irving’s a starter by trade, but, well, what can Lue say? If you’ve forked over the cash for a ticket to this one, at least you get to see James and Kevin Love?
“For the most part we’re going to try to make sure our guys play at home, play our home games for our fans, and after that we’ll just have to evaluate and see how they feel,” Lue said.
Irving started all eight of Team USA’s games at the 2016 Olympics, averaging 22 minutes and 11.4 points. The 31.5 minutes he averaged for the Cavs last season were the second fewest of his career, but he logged an average of 36.9 minutes in Cleveland’s 21 postseason games.
Lue said he was sitting Irving in an effort to avoid “the red zone (a workload that could lead to injury) and just talking to his trainer, and slowly just trying to get to a certain point,” Lue said. “We kind of mapped out his schedule, just tomorrow he’s not going to play.”
Lue said he did not know who would take Irving’s place at point guard. Options include rookie Kay Felder, as well as Jordan McRae and DeAndre Liggins.
Felder is a true point guard; McRae (at 6-5) and Liggins (6-6) are both better suited to play off the ball but have taken turns running the point during training camp.
“(McRae) has been good when he plays the 2,” Lue said. “Trying to play him at the point, a new position for a guy that’s never played the point before, and just making all the right reads, play calls, get into our sets. And so, you know, it’s not fair to him, but he’s been doing a good job with that.
“But, as far as when he plays the 2, he’s been really good.”
LeBron James in, Kyrie Irving out for Cavs preseason opener
Post a Comment