Cavs’ Tyronn Lue: LeBron “feels worse when he doesn’t play”

After bringing Cleveland its first major sports championship in 52 years in 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers (and their fans) had a basic understanding of the 2016-17 season. In an Eastern Conference that Cavs-star LeBron James has owned for the past decade, the wine and gold would have a good shot to get back to the NBA Finals. Four additional wins would garner them back-to-back championships.

One of the biggest questions during the season was the amount of minutes James played. At 37.8 minutes per game, No. 23 played the most minutes per game of anyone in the league and the most he has averaged during the regular season since the 2012-13 season. While he has logged plenty of minutes, Lue admitted that James not only didn’t complain but wanted to be on the court.

Here’s what he had to say about the amount of minutes James has played this season, according to cleveland.com’s Joe Vardon:

“I don’t understand why people make a big deal out of his minutes. He had a week off before the series started. We won four straight games and then he had a week off again. So, next he might play 48 minutes. … ‘Bron today just said he feels worse when he doesn’t play.”

While James logged the most minutes per game in the league during the regular season, Lue also tried his best to give him entire days off. He missed eight games during the season, all due to rest, and the Cavs lost all eight of those games. Lue knew to balance the wine and gold need for the King on the court with that rest.

Throughout the season, there were plenty of peaks and valleys. Whether it was the Cavs struggling at times or questioning head coach Tyronn Lue’s rotation, many questioned, but also many of those people knew that Cleveland would be able to “flip the switch” and play at their best when it matters most.

During the Cavs sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the first round, James averaged 43.7 minutes per game (!), which also leads the league so far this postseason. Luckily for him, he has an entire seven-day break due to Cleveland sweeping the Pacers and having to wait until Monday, when Game 1 of the East semifinals will be held at Quicken Loans Arena.

Outsiders might have complained about the amount of minutes James played during the regular season, but Lue admitted that the amount of minutes James played during the regulars season has helped him during the playoffs thus far.

“With him playing the minutes he played during course of the regular season, it has helped him in the playoffs,” Lue said. “Now he is able to play those 42, 43 minutes. Because he’s used to it. His body can take it, so, I’m not worried about what outside people say.”

James has made six straight Finals appearances. No. 23 hasn’t lost a game in the first round of the playoffs since 2012. The King knows how to prepare his body for the long haul of the season and he has proven that yet again. James may be 32 years old, but in 2017, you can argue that he is in the best shape of his life.

All season long, he has made it known that the amount of minutes he has played doesn’t affect him. You’d think that at 32 and with how much experience he has had both in the regular season and postseason, people would start paying attention and listening to the best player in the world.

“He knows his body better than anyone,” Lue said. “He said he feels great and he feels worse when he doesn’t play, so we’ll see how that works out.”

If James truly does feel worse when he’s sitting on the sidelines, well, good thing that he can basically determine the amount of time he is on the floor, especially in the playoffs. And as long as he’s on the floor, the sky is the limit for the wine and gold.