LeBron James said he is going to play in the season finale Wednesday against the New York Knicks, which means for the first time in his career he will appear in all 82 regular-season games.
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While the Cavaliers star could very likely be preparing for the end of yet another stint in Cleveland, his focus isn’t straying far from the game. LeBron James led the Cavaliers with 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in the loss.
The Cavaliers host the Knicks in Cleveland on Wednesday.
A division title and 50 wins would have been considered shoo-ins for the Cavs before the season, but after injuries, trades and a leave of absence for coach Tyronn Lue, nothing seemed certain. “People in their respective cities want me to come there”, said Cavaliers Forward LeBron James.
“I just like his versatility, I think defensive-wise we can put him on [DeMar] DeRozan, you can put him on John Wall, Bradley Beal”.
“I think he knows how to play the game, ” James said of Ntilikina on Monday.
As for James, one could skeptically argue that this is a measure of damage control by a player who has been known to control the narrative.
Even if Cleveland falls short of winning a second title, making another Finals run may be enough to entice James to finish his career with the Cavs. Some of the things that were said, I think they would take it back and be a little more humble if they could, and probably the same for us as an organization. “I had no idea about that, but that’s pretty cool”.
Indeed, the Cavs went 51-31 last season with Irving in the fold. “King, Queen, Princess, whatever you are”, Kanter said.
Cavaliers: Cleveland almost had its whole roster available, but Rodney Hood was ruled out with a sore left Achilles tendon. He finished with a game-high 27 points on six of 13 shooting from three. They were placed by James Betschel, CEO at Global Market Partners, who said he was inspired to act by his sons.
Last November, LeBron and New York’s #Enes Kanter got into a bit of a scuffle, if you can call it that. We all knew that, in fact- it was pasted onto a billboard. NY is tied for 12 in the league in rebounding with 44.2 boards per contest while standing 14 with 23.2 assists per game. The Knicks have lost 50 or more games four years in a row and haven’t been to the playoffs since 2013. The Knicks were only down 1, 25-26.
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On Friday, Dwyane Wade sarcastically said “good luck” when asked about the NY billboard. “But, our guys didn’t quit, so it was good”. “Same reaction I’ve had to every last one of them I’ve had this year”.
