King James Gospel
Fansided

LeBron James: Why More Minutes Is Really Less Minutes

By Nathan Beighle

Apr 20, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) is guarded by Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) in game three of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) is guarded by Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) in game three of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Everyone outside of the Cleveland Cavaliers fanbase harps on the Cavs for playing LeBron James so much, but realistically it is the best possible thing for him and the team.

After an exhausting, historic season, LeBron James and his Cavaliers have finally hit their playoff spurt. They rattled off four straight against a Pacers’ team that relied on Paul George for virtually everything.

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Throughout that series, Tyronn Lue called on LeBron James to be the leader. He had him step up, and his minutes went sharply up because of it. James averaged 43.8 minutes per game which is the most of any player this postseason. Coincidently, Paul George was second at 43.0. These two superstars went at it, but James ending this series in four was just what Lue needed.

According to Dave McMenamin, Lue told ESPN this:

"“Of course, we’re always cognizant of LeBron’s minutes, but in looking at this situation, we didn’t look at the minutes as an issue,” Lue told ESPN. “It makes more sense to close out the series and have the additional rest versus playing potentially even more minutes, potentially 96-144 more minutes. Closing out and the rest that comes with it far outweighs the other potential scenario.”"

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be going into their next series against the Bucks or Raptors, and it’s more than likely that this series will go seven games. With that said, whoever the Cavs play, they will have had just a few days off compared to the Cavs weeks and a bit.

As the road to the Finals is long and drags on through months, these extra days off are crucial for a player that is asked to play 40+ minutes every other night. Not only play 40+, but also to facilitate the offense and lead the entire team.

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Letting LeBron play and drill right through the Eastern Conference is by far a better decision than forfeiting one game when you’re down 25 (cough, cough Game 3).