In the first nine games of the Cavs' season, LeBron James has played more than 40 minutes seven times. Meanwhile Cleveland is a fairly mediocre 5-4. Coincidence? Yeah, probably.
But that doesn't mean that playing James so much early won't effect his endurance down the road (especially considering his new, untested, frame). Of the league leaders in minutes played, Cleveland's new "Big Three" holds the third, fourth and fifth positions on the grueling list. LeBron averages 39.1 minutes a night, to Kyrie Irving's 38.4, and Kevin Love's 37.0. Only Oklahoma City's Reggie Jackson (41.4) and Chicago's Jimmy Butler (40.3) know what it's like to be on the floor more.
LeBron told ESPN "For me, I don't want to do that all year," while also acknowledging that he's aware that they need to learn and implement a new system from first-year coach Dave Blatt. Blatt previously said, all the way back in preseason, that "39 minutes is a lot," while he was being asked about LeBron's career average of 39.5 MPG.
While LeBron may actually be under that career mark, consider he's been in the league for 11 years now (Whoa! Where the fuck did that time go?!) Besides, 82 games is going to give this team more than enough time to mesh, so it may be better for Blatt to give his stars a blow before the postseason (or run up to it) when this squad will really start being scrutinized, bashed, or crowned on a nightly basis.
[via ESPN]
