LeBron James has already played over 36,000 minutes in his career. For comparison’s sake, he’s in his 13th NBA season, and he’s already played more minutes than Magic Johnson or Larry Bird, both of whom played 13 seasons (with long playoff runs, too). That’s an incredible amount of wear and tear on the game’s best player who likely still has three or four seasons left near his peak. LeBron is now at the point in his career where being ready for the postseason has to take precedence over trying to play every game in the regular season.
The Cavaliers know this, which is why they rested him against the Miami Heat on Saturday — despite James’ protests, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com.
In early November, Cleveland.com reported that the Cavs were plotting spots on the schedule where they could sit James in attempt to keep him fresh for another postseason run, without missing too many regular-season games.
This game, the second night of a ridiculous, back-to-back set, where the first one in New Orleans started Friday night at 9:30 eastern time, and with two days off following the Miami game, was the first candidate for James to potentially sit out, according to a team source.
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James’ is indeed healthy, a source said, and “that’s why he wasn’t thrilled with the concept” of sitting out.
Here’s the thing: James should be thrilled with sitting, and not just because it gives him the night off.
In an interview with Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated, James said he wants to learn how to properly pace himself, much like Gregg Popovich has done with his San Antonio Spurs.
“If I’m able to link up with Pop in the afterlife, we can sit down and drink some wine and I can ask him how to pace,” he says. “The Spurs know how to pace perfection. I haven’t figured that out yet.” He ticks off personal shortcomings. “Don’t box out sometimes, allow guys to get offensive rebounds, allow guys to backdoor cut on me….”
Sitting on the second game of a back-to-back is a tactic Popovich has employed time and again to give his aging stars some rest, so it’s a great lesson for LeBron. Even if he’s never thrilled with the the concept, he should at least embrace it. As much as he wants to play every game, as much as he wants to win 70 games, even he would probably admit that accomplishing both of those goals at the expense of the ultimate goal – winning a title – would be a waste.
The next step in LeBron James’ career has little to do with evolution and almost everything to do with elongation. Strategically resting during the season, even when he’s fully healthy, is crucial to this plan.
