The King, in this case, is Cleveland Cavaliers star and MVP favorite LeBron James and he was, in fact, resting when he missed two games since last week’s Race. James did not suit up in the wine-and-gold in
Christian Louboutin Milwaukee last Saturday and then was on the Cavs’ inactive list Monday against San Antonio. That layoff got him an entire week off from games, nearly as much from practice; James faced Detroit at Quicken Loans Arena on Feb. 5 and was back on the court Thursday as the Cavaliers prepared for their game at Philadelphia on Friday.“I was excited about practice.LouboutI’m always one to practice. I never sit out a practice,” James told repor`ters after Thursday’s workout, using that word nearly as often as — but 180 degrees differently than — Allen Iverson in his all-time sound bite.James wasn’t alone. Cleveland coach Mike Brown began to take inventory and prep for a stretch run that, compared to most of the other teams with postseason ambitions, will be all about setting up for the playoffs. At Wednesday’s
NFL Jerseys practice, the whole top of the Cavs’ rotation was held out or otherwise unavailable (James, Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, Anderson Varejao, Shaquille O’Neal).“I’m always a guy who wants to play every game,” James said. “Now, looking back on it, it was definitely the right decision to give the injuries that I had some rest and, at the same time, take some time off. It’s not often you can look at the schedule and get a week off and only miss two games, so we took advantage of it. I regenerated a lot, did a lot of treatment, did a lot of exercise to get me back to feeling where I can definitely close out the season.”The Race, of course, carefully monitors its MVP candidates whether they’re playing or not. As the committee has noted before, how a fellow’s supporting cast does when he’s out can either bolster or undercut his case for consideration for the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. Typically, it is an inverse relationship: The better a team does without its star, the more help he undoubtedly has overall and the lessened claim he can make on the league’s highest individual honor. And vice versa: If a team falters while its key guy is out, then he must be pretty darn important and, you know, valuable.In this instance, Cleveland went 1-1 without
ed hardy jeans James, which didn’t move the needle at all for The Race.The Cavaliers’ loss to the Bucks offered more persuasive evidence that James deserves to remain in pole position in The Race. After all, a pair of teammates had dynamite games — Jamison had 30 points, 11 rebounds and five steals, while Delonte West scored a season-high 27 on 11-of-18 shooting — and it wasn’t enough.Two nights later, the Cavaliers
Ugg boots Store won at home over the once-mighty Spurs, which might have been unthinkable in the past on any night that James sat out. Except that San Antonio is a seventh-place team in the West, Tony Parker is out with a broken bone in his right hand and two-time MVP winner Tim Duncan, though still a factor in The Race, kinda sorta took the night off by his considerable standards (13 points, five rebounds). Six different Cavs scored in double figures, with Mo Williams’ 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists tops among them.Even while James sat out, Cleveland chugged along accomplishing things. The Cavaliers became the first team to reach 50 victories, something they never had managed before in their six previous years of winning 50 or more. And they became the NBA’s first club to clinch a
Gucci Shoes playoff spot (which they owe at least a little to those in the East chasing the way-lower seeds).Now The Race will be watching closely to see whether James’ nice respite recharges him for an even stronger finish or whether he and his coaches pace him for the stuff that really counts.