Cleveland Cavaliers F LeBron James will not play vs. Miami Heat

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James will not play vs. the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James will not play against the Miami Heat on Saturday, coach David Blatt told reporters. 

Blatt said LeBron is being held out because the team is “thinking long-term.”

The Cavaliers are facing the Heat on the second night of a back-to-back. James played nearly 45 minutes in an overtime loss to the Pelicans on Friday night. 

Now in his 13th season, James is playing nearly 37 minutes a game, a slight uptick from last year. Cleveland will also be without Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert, who have missed every game so far this season. 

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Cleveland has not won in Miami since James left the Heat. The Cavaliers are 2–2 against the Heat since James’s return.