LeBron James could sit out remainder of Cavaliers’ preseason

LeBron James has played in only two of the Cavaliers’ five preseason games, and could miss the remainder of the preseason.

LeBron James could sit out the remainder of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ preseason, coach David Blatt said Thursday.

James has been benched in Cleveland’s last two games, and has not played since Monday against the Memphis Grizzlies. He has scored 22 points in 48 minutes in two games this preseason.

The Associated Press reported that James is healthy, and that Blatt is simply letting him rest heading into the regular season. ESPN reported Friday that James received an anti-inflammatory injection in his back this week.

“We’re really happy with how LeBron came into camp. Came in great shape,” Blatt said. “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. ...We’ll see what happens at the beginning of next week. I certainly don’t expect him to play both games and I don't know if he’ll even play one. We’ll see.”

The Cavs, who are 0–5 in preseason play, have two games left against the Toronto Raptors and the Dallas Mavericks, before beginning their regular season against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 27.

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