TORONTO (AP) -Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James will sit out with a sprained left index finger Friday night against the Toronto Raptors, who will be without forward Chris Bosh because of a strained groin.
James, the league’s leading scorer, is averaging 30.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 8.1 assists. Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said guard Devin Brown would start in James’ place.
Brown said the decision to sit James was more precaution than necessity.
“If it was a playoff game, I don’t know if I could sit him down,” Brown said. “But looking at him and talking to our medical staff, I’ve been wearing him out, minute-wise and everything else, so I felt it was best to sit him out. He wanted to play, but we felt it was best to sit him out.”
James was injured in the second quarter of Wednesday night’s loss at Detroit when Pistons center Nazr Mohammed slapped at the ball as James began to shoot.
James, who did not speak to the media, had an MRI exam Thursday that confirmed the sprain. He did not participate in Friday morning’s shootaround.
Cleveland has gone 6-1 in the seven games that James has missed since the start of the 2005-06 season.
“We don’t want to play many games without him,” Brown said. “Our guys try to play the right way as a group when they don’t have their main guy in.”
Mike Brown said James would likely practice Saturday, but that it was too early to determine whether James would play Sunday when Cleveland visits Boston.
“It’s too far ahead for me to say whether or not he will play, but he definitely could play tonight if it was a playoff game,” the coach said.
James has four triple-doubles this season and had scored at least 30 points in each of his seven games prior to Wednesday’s loss at Detroit. He matched his season high with 45 points at Minnesota on Nov. 21.
Cleveland also was without guard Larry Hughes (bone bruise, left leg), forward Donyell Marshall (sprained right wrist) and forward Cedric Simmons (sprained left ankle).
Bosh, Toronto’s leading scorer and rebounder, left Wednesday night’s victory over Memphis early in the second quarter. He is averaging 18.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Forward Andrea Bargnani started for Toronto, while guard T.J. Ford was available off the bench. Ford had missed Toronto’s previous four games after getting a stinger in a Nov. 20 collision with Dallas’ Josh Howard. Bargnani limped off in the fourth quarter Wednesday after a knee-on-knee collision with Stromile Swift.
Toronto also placed guard Darrick Martin on the inactive list and activated forward Maceo Baston.
Add A Comment
THIS IS NOT A GAMBLING SITE – If you think you have a gambling problem click here.
Disclaimer: This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Individual users are responsible for the laws regarding accessing gambling information from their jurisdictions. Many countries around the world prohibit gambling, please check the laws in your location. Any use of this information that may violate any federal, state, local or international law is strictly prohibited.
Copyright: The information contained on TheSpread.com website is protected by international copyright and may not be reproduced, or redistributed in any way without expressed written consent.
About: TheSpread.com is the largest sports betting news site in the United States. We provide point spread news, odds, statistics and information to over 175 countries around the world each year. Our coverage includes all North American College and Professional Sports as well as entertainment, political and proposition wagering news.
©1999-2023 TheSpread.com