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LeBron James: Watching The King’s minutes

By Duane Rohrbacher

Dec 31, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts to a foul called against his team during the first half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts to a foul called against his team during the first half of the game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports /
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Should the Cleveland Cavaliers start reducing LeBron James’ minutes now?

LeBron James has already logged 39,741 total minutes in the regular season. That’s more than Larry Bird played in his entire career. Tack on another 8,383 playoff minutes and LeBron has already logged over 47,000 in over his almost 14-year career.

James’ minutes are back up this year to 37.1 minutes per game. That’s is his highest per game average since the 2013-14 season when he was with the Heat. The Czar David Griffin has been pretty good over the last two years about monitoring James’ minutes, but with a depleted roster, James is playing way too many minutes. The cost-benefit analysis does not place putting more risk of injury (unlikely) and general fatigue (very likely) very high.

Of course, James’ has had to play backup point guard while Iman Shumpert, Jordan McCrae and Kay Felder have failed to be a consistent presence that can backup Kyrie Irving. James has also played a lot of power while the Cavs “go small” and put either Frye or Love at center in order to maximize the team’s shooting potential. James still ends up guarding the other team’s best player, night in and night out because he’s the Cavs’ best defender.

In addition, James probably is not going to get a two-week January rest this year like he did in 2014-15.

As the Cleveland Cavaliers attempt to solve their issues, the hope is that Griffin can make at least two more savvy moves. One would be to get Irving a true backup point guard and the other to snatch a true rim protector. The King’s minutes can start to hover around 32 minute per game once J.R. Smith is healthy and those trades are made.

Rest is what James needs because ultimately, a rested LeBron is a lethal LeBron. In the playoffs, rest is of the greatest importance. LeBron is probably going to go back to averaging 40+ minutes a night in presumably the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. Riding out the rest of January and the beginning of February at 37 minutes a night is okay, and it is important to ensure that he gets back down to 30-32 per game for the rest of the season and for the early playoff games.

There’s really no reason to play James that extra 7 minutes to win a few extra games. The Cavs will probably make it to the Finals as a 1-seed, 2-seed, 3-seed…you see where I’m going with this. Home-court advantage, while lovely, will have no bearing on the Cavs quest for a third straight Finals appearance and their ability to walk away from the championship series as the victors.

Related Story: The Cleveland Cavaliers Trade Targets Have Changed

Do you think that the Cleveland Cavaliers should start watching LeBron James’ minutes now?