LeBron says he doesn't have to step up without Love: 'I've never stepped down'
LeBron James is not freaking about Kevin Love missing six weeks, he told reporters Tuesday, but he's obviously not happy about the news. Love, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in the morning, has been phenomenal for the Cleveland Cavaliers this season, and James is only a few weeks removed from venting about the roster being "top-heavy as shit." Still, the superstar maintains that he'll make sure the Cavs get by.
From cleveland.com's Chris Fedor:
"As long as I'm in the lineup, we've got a chance," James said Tuesday morning. "We good. Kev is out for an extended period of time. J.R. (Smith) has been out, but I'm in the lineup. I'll be suiting up. We've got a chance against anybody. I ain't worried." ... "Sucks," James said. "It's just our road every season. One of our key guys get hurt and this year has probably been the worst out of all years -- having our starting 2-guard out for so long and now having our All-Star power forward out for an extended period of time. It's just next man up and we just hope for a healthy and speedy recovery for our All-Star." ... Does that mean James has to step up even more? "I've never stepped down," he said. "Why does it change now? Ain't nothing changed. I have my guys ready to play every single night."
Ideally, the Cavs would be able to coast through most of the regular season, limit their stars' minutes and peak in May and June. Instead, James is averaging 37.6 minutes, a mark only equaled by Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry. James may have told reporters on Tuesday, "I'll rest when I retire," but Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue insisted he won't be overused, via cleveland.com:
"We're still going to go about our plan," head coach Tyronn Lue said Tuesday morning, prior to the team's shootaround in Minnesota. "We can't run LeBron into the ground because Kevin is out. Guys got to step up and be ready to play and the games that we discussed (internally) that he can possibly be out in March, then we'll look forward to that. Right now not thinking about that. Just thinking about tonight and tomorrow and then we got to go from there."
James might spend more time at power forward in Love's absence, but the changes to the rotation will be more about other players. Channing Frye is going to shift into the starting lineup, and he is more than capable of playing more than his 18-minutes-per-game average. New addition Derrick Williams will also get a chance to play power forward, and Lue mentioned veteran sharpshooter James Jones' name, too.
The trouble is that the Cavs have been outscored by 4.5 points per 100 possessions this season with James on the bench, even with Love stabilizing some of those LeBron-free lineups. With Love out, James might have to be extra special when he's on the court, so his team has a chance of surviving when he's not.