Cavaliers reportedly knew for weeks LeBron might sit out against Heat
When LeBron James sat out of the Cavaliers' loss to the Heat on Friday, it came as a pretty big surprise.
Not only had James played in every one of his team's games to that point of the season, but a game against Dwyane Wade and his former Miami teammates would seem to be one he'd have circled on the calendar.
But according to a report from Cleveland.com's Joe Vardon, the night off may have been planned for quite some time.
The league's 82-game schedule makes resting older star players necessary, and it's been critical to the sustained success of teams like the Spurs, who were the first to begin doing this several years ago. And although seeing LeBron suddenly sidelined for this particular game seemed like a fairly big surprise, he and the team likely knew it was happening well in advance of the announcement.
The Cavs knew for weeks that James could miss this game.
In early November, Cleveland.com reported that the Cavs were plotting spots on the schedule where they could sit James in attempt to keep him fresh for another postseason run, without missing too many regular-season games.
This game, the second night of a ridiculous, back-to-back set, where the first one in New Orleans started Friday night at 9:30 eastern time, and with two days off following the Miami game, was the first candidate for James to potentially sit out, according to a team source.
