CLEVELAND: LeBron James received an injection in his back this week, according to multiple sources, and is unlikely to play again in the preseason. James received a similar anti-inflammatory shot in January when he was shut down for two weeks and responded so well that the plan was always for him to have another one at some point, one league source said. By doing it now, James won’t miss any significant time.
The Cavs open the regular season at the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 27.
James has dealt with back problems the last couple of years, although no one seems to think it’s a significant issue at present. His back was a little sore when he arrived at Quicken Loans Arena for Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks, a game he wasn’t supposed to play in anyway, and he was feeling ill. So the team gave him the shot and sent him home.
James has appeared in two of the first five preseason games. The Cavs have two remaining – Sunday at the Toronto Raptors and Monday at home against the Dallas Mavericks. Coach David Blatt indicated Thursday James wouldn’t play again until the Bulls.
“We’ll see what happens at the beginning of next week,” Blatt said. “I certainly don’t expect him to play both games and I don’t know if he’ll even play one. We’ll see.”
Finding the proper amount of rest for James was an ongoing theme throughout last year, particularly after he returned from the two-week layoff. James put himself through rigorous three-a-day workouts in September to prepare for the season, then joked on media day he could use another couple of months off to rest.
“We’re really happy with how LeBron came into camp, came in great shape and has worked very, very hard,” Blatt said Thursday. “We want to take good care of him for the start of the season. As you know in his great and storied career, he has amassed a lot of miles. We’re trying to keep those preseason miles to a minimum.”
The Cavs are 0-5 this preseason and have been forced to use patchwork lineups. They will be without Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert to start the season, Tristan Thompson is still holding out and Blatt acknowledged Thursday starting center Timofey Mozgov is out of shape as he continues to work his way back from offseason knee surgery.
One bright spot is Kevin Love, who could make his debut either Sunday or Monday. The plan has always been for Love to appear in at least one preseason game and be ready to go for the season opener.
Sources: LeBron James received injection in back this week, unlikely to play again in preseason