Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue wants everybody to chill out.
After the game last weekend, LeBron James, Cavaliers star player, only played for a total of 38 minute. This was already excessive for other people since this would mean less opportunity for his teammates to perform.
This dismayed some of the fans as well as critics. Others felt like James was getting a little too cozy on the superstar limelight and that he’s playing solo.
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green even made this his talking point during his interview with USA Today . According to ESPN , Green said that James’ minutes would concern him “if I’m a Cavs fan or somebody with the Cavs or a player.”
“…is like ‘Man, he’s been playing a lot of 40-minute (nights) and it’s only Nov. 12. He’s superhuman, but eventually his superhuman powers go away.”
James was reported to agree with Green’s sentiment. Talking with Cleveland.com , the 33-year-old NBA superstar said he would also want to get the minutes down.
“But as of right now, we’ve had two point guards out and we’ve had some different lineup changes, so, I’ve had to play more minutes than I would like, and more minutes than my teammates would like me to have.”
However, after banking 18 points and eight assists during the last game, James backed down on his word and said that people are worried too much about his minutes.
“You make so much a big thing about my minutes. It’s not a huge issue. But at the end of the day, when we can get a win like this, everybody benefits from it. Not just me. Everybody.”
As for Coach Lue, he has no problems with James staying in the game. He knew the reporters would be asking these questions. He defended James and said that it’s quite normal for star players to take the spotlight. Even NBA legend Michael Jordan played 37 minutes a night.
“I hear about that all the time. I played with Michael Jordan when he was 39, he played 37 minutes a night. Karl Malone was 37, played 38 minutes a night, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Kobe [Bryant]. Everybody’s built different. If you’re one of the greats, sometimes you’ve got to play, sometimes you get rest like tonight.”
Coach Lue was clearly supportive of his star player. Even though there has been an incident with James during his game this week when Tyler Zeller hit James in the mouth . Just as before, James scored 23 points out of his 33 total points during the last part of the game. For Coach Lue, it’s all about his performance. Even though it feels like he is outshining the team, it’s all part of their gameplay.
[Featured Image by LM Otero/AP Images]
