Limiting LeBron James’ Minutes Is A Good Idea

As the Cleveland Cavaliers’ training camp opens this week, head coach Tyronn Lue has a couple of adjustments to further improve the defending champions. Limiting LeBron James‘ time on the court is one of those changes.

LeBron James, still basking in the glory of fulfilling the promise of bringing a championship to his hometown, will be less present on the court this year. Head coach Tyronn Lue believes it is best to reduce James’ minutes for this upcoming season, according to David McMenamin of ESPN.

“Just seeing what makes sense and what’s smart when playing four-in-five type of nights. Can’t run our guys into the ground,” said Lue. ” We have to be smart, understand we have to take care of our bodies and take care of our key guys. Make sure that when we get to the playoffs we’re ready to go.”

James, 31, has played a large amount of minutes since he entered the NBA, with averages of about 39 minutes per game for his career. But his minutes have declined during the past two seasons in Cleveland. James played 35.6 minutes last season, which was a career low. His previous career low for minutes played was during the 2014-15 season in which he averaged 36.1 minutes per game.

As James gets closer to the end of his career, it is crucial that he is healthy enough to be able to finish it in an appropriate manner while still being able to play aggressively. And, excluding back problems, James has been among one of the healthiest players in the NBA throughout his career, so reducing his time on the court is the obvious decision to make as the forward gets older.

Decreasing James’ minutes during the regular season has enabled him to play in full attack mode during the playoffs. He averaged 42.4 minutes per game during the 2015 NBA Playoffs and 39.9 minutes per game for during the playoffs last season. His limited minutes definitely benefitted him and the team during the postseason.

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James understands the decision to reduce his minutes. “I try to make myself available for my teammates every night, and I think I’ve had some pretty good coaches over the last few years with Erik Spoelstra my last couple years there [in Miami] and now coach Lue has done a great job of just trying to help me take care of my body because I’m very stubborn when it comes to wanting to play.”

Additionally, James has made six consecutive Finals trips. So the weight and pressure put on his body will benefit from the extra rest this season.

But James is not the only player whose minutes will be reduced this season. Lue has planned to reduce both Kyrie Irving‘s and Kevin Love‘s playing time for this upcoming season as well. Lue essentially wants to ensure that his top players are prepared and well-rested for the playoffs.

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The Cavaliers are one of the oldest teams in the league, so limiting minutes seems to be a good plan for a team that seeks to reclaim its title as NBA champions.