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LeBron James
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priceFTW
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No player has ever put up a 30 PER past the age of 28. LeBron's already the oldest ever to put up a 30 PER (along with D. Robinson and Shaq). James is also the second oldest to put up a WS/48 > .300 (Jordan at 32 in '96 on the 72 win team).
If he does wind up putting together another 30 PER and .300 WS/48 and wins MVP, it really would be something.
Cavsengland
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Jack Brickman
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Dion Waiters: Finals MVP
Kbiz
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Surprised no one has posted this story yet. Most quotes from the article have been posted in some form but thought this was one of the better narrative pieces i've seen on The Cavs this entire off-season. Discusses Lebron, Blatt, and the team's mentality moving forward.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer...-successful-first-steps-with-lebron-cavaliers
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/writer...-successful-first-steps-with-lebron-cavaliers
Kypus
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I totally see what you're talking about- hopefully it was just him taking it easy on his mates.
Captain S
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Here's another angle
He looks to have jumped from a good deal of distance, but I agree he was probably taking it easy
CavsHomer
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daytripper
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I believe it was already posted in the Blatt thread.
Kbiz
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Yep, somehow i missed it. Sorry for the duplicate. Still relevant to this thread though.
It will be amazing to see how Lebron responds to this offense. Before Lebron joined the Heat, Spo was not regarded as that great of a coach. I remember people calling for Riley to take over the team during Lebron's first year when they started a little shaky. Now, he's regarded as one of the best coaches in the NBA. I think we will learn how good of a coach Spo truly is this year.
Same could be said for Mike Brown. We all know who actually coached our team during Brown's first stint here.
I can not wait to see how the pairing of Blatt and Lebron coexist. We could be on the verge of a Pop/Duncan relationship here...fingers crossed!
oracio
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Cavs to rest LeBron James at times
Updated: October 3, 2014, 3:14 PM ET
By Dave McMenamin | ESPN.com
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt said Friday he is open to the idea of resting LeBron James at times during the season to keep the star forward fresh for a postseason run.
James sat out the morning practice session of Cleveland's two-a-day Friday in order to rest his back. Earlier this week, James described his back as feeling "iffy" and only played in two out of three periods during the Cavs' intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Tony DejakThe Cavaliers want LeBron James to be fresh for the playoffs and are toying with the idea of resting him at times -- even for full games -- during the regular season.
Friday was the first practice that James missed since training camp opened a week ago.
Blatt downplayed the development, pointing out that several other veterans -- Mike Miller, Anderson Varejao and Shawn Marion -- have also been given time off for "maintenance." He added that James planned to participate in Friday's second practice session in the evening.
The coach did not rule out James getting scheduled rest periods -- including possibly sitting out games -- as the season goes on, however.
"Certainly could," Blatt said. "It's not specifically planned at this point. In other words, we didn't sit down and already write up a plan for what game he would miss or what practice he would miss, but it could [happen] depending on need."
James is expected to play when the Cavs take on Blatt's former team, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, in their first preseason game Sunday.
James has played in 842 out of a possible 886 regular-season games during his first 11 years in the league, but the former prep-to-pro phenom turns 30 in December. The body changes over time.
James, who has played close to 40,000 minutes during his career, went on a strict, 67-day diet during the offseason in order to shed weight, but he has balked at the notion that the wear and tear is catching up to him.
"I'm 29 years old, and I can still fly above the rim," James said on media day. "I don't need to lose weight to do that, not at this point in my career."
Blatt said he watched from afar as San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pulled players out of the lineup at various times in recent seasons to try to preserve them for the playoffs.
"I noticed a lot of what Pop does because he does it pretty well," Blatt said. "In my last years in Europe, I was coaching close to 80 games each year. I know what it is. The travel was a lot harder where I was than it was here.
"Players are here to play, and it's our job to get them ready and keep them healthy so they can participate in every game, but it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you have to know how to rest guys without the team being at risk. That's part of the process."
Popovich was famously fined $250,000 by former commissioner David Stern for sitting out Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili for a game against James and the Miami Heat during the 2012-13 season.
Blatt was asked if he could be facing a similar punishment from new commissioner Adam Silver for employing the same coaching tactic this season.
"That's a leading question," Blatt said with a laugh. "That's kind of like saying, 'Here's the jury, here's the court, are you willing to be punished for a crime that you haven't yet committed?'"
Regardless of how Blatt chooses to manage James' playing time, the coach expressed that the four-time MVP taking a practice off is not something that concerns him in the least.
"This is really, really insignificant if you ask me, in the grand scheme of things, if LeBron sits out a practice," Blatt said. "And I value practice probably more than most. But the fact that we may need to rest him and others at different points during the preparation process and even during the season, in my mind, it's the right and the smart thing to do.
"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And we have to be conscious of keeping these guys fresh and healthy and ready for the games ahead."
source:
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...rs-open-regularly-resting-lebron-james-season
Updated: October 3, 2014, 3:14 PM ET
By Dave McMenamin | ESPN.com
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt said Friday he is open to the idea of resting LeBron James at times during the season to keep the star forward fresh for a postseason run.
James sat out the morning practice session of Cleveland's two-a-day Friday in order to rest his back. Earlier this week, James described his back as feeling "iffy" and only played in two out of three periods during the Cavs' intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday.
[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Tony DejakThe Cavaliers want LeBron James to be fresh for the playoffs and are toying with the idea of resting him at times -- even for full games -- during the regular season.
Friday was the first practice that James missed since training camp opened a week ago.
Blatt downplayed the development, pointing out that several other veterans -- Mike Miller, Anderson Varejao and Shawn Marion -- have also been given time off for "maintenance." He added that James planned to participate in Friday's second practice session in the evening.
The coach did not rule out James getting scheduled rest periods -- including possibly sitting out games -- as the season goes on, however.
"Certainly could," Blatt said. "It's not specifically planned at this point. In other words, we didn't sit down and already write up a plan for what game he would miss or what practice he would miss, but it could [happen] depending on need."
James is expected to play when the Cavs take on Blatt's former team, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, in their first preseason game Sunday.
James has played in 842 out of a possible 886 regular-season games during his first 11 years in the league, but the former prep-to-pro phenom turns 30 in December. The body changes over time.
James, who has played close to 40,000 minutes during his career, went on a strict, 67-day diet during the offseason in order to shed weight, but he has balked at the notion that the wear and tear is catching up to him.
"I'm 29 years old, and I can still fly above the rim," James said on media day. "I don't need to lose weight to do that, not at this point in my career."
Blatt said he watched from afar as San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich pulled players out of the lineup at various times in recent seasons to try to preserve them for the playoffs.
"I noticed a lot of what Pop does because he does it pretty well," Blatt said. "In my last years in Europe, I was coaching close to 80 games each year. I know what it is. The travel was a lot harder where I was than it was here.
"Players are here to play, and it's our job to get them ready and keep them healthy so they can participate in every game, but it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes you have to know how to rest guys without the team being at risk. That's part of the process."
Popovich was famously fined $250,000 by former commissioner David Stern for sitting out Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili for a game against James and the Miami Heat during the 2012-13 season.
Blatt was asked if he could be facing a similar punishment from new commissioner Adam Silver for employing the same coaching tactic this season.
"That's a leading question," Blatt said with a laugh. "That's kind of like saying, 'Here's the jury, here's the court, are you willing to be punished for a crime that you haven't yet committed?'"
Regardless of how Blatt chooses to manage James' playing time, the coach expressed that the four-time MVP taking a practice off is not something that concerns him in the least.
"This is really, really insignificant if you ask me, in the grand scheme of things, if LeBron sits out a practice," Blatt said. "And I value practice probably more than most. But the fact that we may need to rest him and others at different points during the preparation process and even during the season, in my mind, it's the right and the smart thing to do.
"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And we have to be conscious of keeping these guys fresh and healthy and ready for the games ahead."
source:
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...rs-open-regularly-resting-lebron-james-season
Last edited:
Bandwagoner305
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All of the injury prone guys, like Miller, Love, Kyrie, etc, will sit a few games out.
godfather
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It worries me that he's developing back issues. I know it's a minor thing but he's had these come and go throughout his career. It could develop into something more serious long-term. He definitely needs to be treated differently and with more care.
He doesn't have to be rested like Tim Duncan, but minutes should be monitored for him.
He doesn't have to be rested like Tim Duncan, but minutes should be monitored for him.
MirORich
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The nine day all star break will help this year a lot, giving our guys that go the the ASG a few extra days off before and after the ASG than usual and giving guys like Miller, Marion, and Andy a full 9 days off from games in February. That's huge for us(and any vet laden, playoff bound team) headed into the final third of the season.
A lot of this will be on LeBron himself in terms of how he wants to manage his minutes and stats. There will be a lot games well out of hand in our favor by midway through the third quarter. Is LeBron content to rest with 17,6 and 8 in 24-28 minutes and watch the other guys keep and extend the blowout til the end or does he prefer to play the full game and do a 6-8 minute shift in the 4th quarter to get his usual 32-36 mpg and his usual stats? I'm not trying to frame this in a selfish or 'all about the stats" way, it could come down to him preferring to play 32-36 in all 4 quarters from a mental and physical conditioning standpoint.
A lot of this will be on LeBron himself in terms of how he wants to manage his minutes and stats. There will be a lot games well out of hand in our favor by midway through the third quarter. Is LeBron content to rest with 17,6 and 8 in 24-28 minutes and watch the other guys keep and extend the blowout til the end or does he prefer to play the full game and do a 6-8 minute shift in the 4th quarter to get his usual 32-36 mpg and his usual stats? I'm not trying to frame this in a selfish or 'all about the stats" way, it could come down to him preferring to play 32-36 in all 4 quarters from a mental and physical conditioning standpoint.
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Bandwagoner305
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The team will desperately need LeBron to be better on the defensive end than he was last year. He's going to have to clean up after Kyrie and Love defensive lapses. He will be needed to play as many important games as possible. I know it was just a scrimmage game, but i was not impressed by Love's and Kyrie's efforts on the defensive end.