“I don’t look at things in terms of what kind of shake I got or not”, Blatt said of the critics calling for his job l when the Cavs stumbled to a 19-20 record. “Matter of fact, I actually did joke about it”. I feel good. I still got a few more rehab to do to continue to get everything stronger and get my back right.
Advertisement
Entering his 13th season as a pro, James is more mindful of his minutes and wants to be healthy when it matters most – in the playoffs. The Cavaliers made it through the conference semifinals and finals without him, losing just two of the next ten games, but on the way Kyrie Irving started experiencing issues.
“Certainly we can be a contender, but beyond that?”
Concern for Cavaliers and more relevantly, LeBron James fans, as the star has not been fully involved in team practices.
The Cavs have made it clear that they will be managing the minutes of their players this season.
James was given an anti-inflammatory injection in his back ten days ago and at that time, the Cavaliers indicated that he would miss the remainder of the preseason while the medication did its job.
“Every year you lose in the Finals, it gets worse and worse to get over”, James said following another summer of discontent.
He, to me, had NO excuse to at least ATTEMPT to take over EVERY SINGLE BASKETBALL game he EVER played in, a la: MJ.
Bulls fourth runner-up in the 2013-14 most valuable player voting, Joakim Noah, is another confirmation for Tuesday night, and he has a new role that appears to suit him better; especially now that Noah is looking lot more physically active after his left knee surgery as well as more mentally intense.
“Yeah, I told him if he couldn’t go [Sunday], [Monday] we could start worrying”, Scott said after practice.
New this year are teammates Nos. “Really this comes down to more than anything else just keeping him from putting miles on himself”. That said, I have to get over my concerns, it’s not my money, and the owner of one of my teams was willing to spend what it takes to win. So my respect for him and my appreciation for what he has to go through on a daily basis is just off the charts.
Good, veteran National Basketball Association teams are never about the regular season.
Blatt on Monday wouldn’t commit to using Tristan Thompson in the same role he held last season as the first big off the bench midway through the first quarter.
Add Aldridge and David West, who snubbed a richer deal from Indiana for a chance to join the Spurs, and it’s no wonder a team with 18 50-win seasons in a row looks likely to stretch that streak. We’re not even talking about that right now. We have no reason to believe that, but we also are of the mindset that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he didn’t play on Tuesday. This year, the Cavs are once again the easy favorites in the East, and they have the luxury of having talent and chemistry already in place. A year after the Milwaukee Bucks won 41 games, the addition of Greg Monroe and a healthy Jabari Parker will only make them better. He was able to get back into the routine of being a ball player and that was key for his confidence.
Advertisement
“Expectations are high. The goals are lofty”.
