Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron: 'Next man up' after injury to Iman Shumpert
Published
Sep. 30, 2015 8:40 a.m. ET
foxsports
The Cavaliers ended last season two wins shy of an NBA title, but they also ended it with injuries to two of their key star players.
The new season is beginning in the very same way.
Iman Shumpert isn't exactly Kyrie Irving, but he is a key contributor who was penciled into the starting lineup. And after hearing the news that he'll miss about three months with a wrist injury, LeBron James said the team must have a "next man up" mentality in order to get through this early bit of adversity.
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With Irving not expected to be ready to start the season, J.R. Smith and Mo Williams will likely be the starting backcourt in Cleveland when the season tips off in Chicago on Oct. 27.
“It’s ‘next man up’ for our team,” LeBron James said. “It’s a big blow for our team. He’s a guy that we wanted around here long-term, and he still will be around here long-term obviously, but the next man up will be ready to go until he gets back.”
Cavs coach David Blatt echoed those sentiments.
“He will eventually be back and in the meantime, we will follow the same philosophy that we had all last year: Face the adversity, next man up and play the game that we know how and the way that we should,” Blatt said.
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