LeBron James recently admitted that his back is "iffy" and coach David Blatt said in a Cleveland Cavaliers roster rumors update that the superstar forward could be rested in some games in the upcoming season.
James, who played in 77 regular-season games last season, missed Cleveland's practice on Friday for "maintenance" reasons. But while Blatt said that Cavs fans have nothing to worry about, he revealed that they could do the same in the 2014-15 NBA season.
Blatt, who will be coaching in his first year in the NBA, said that they have not talked to James about that plan, but they are seriously considering it to keep the four-time Most Valuable Player fresh for a playoff run.
"Certainly could," Blatt said of resting James in a Cleveland Cavaliers roster rumors update on ESPN. "It's not specifically planned at this point. In other words, we didn't sit down and already write up a plan for what game he would miss or what practice he would miss, but it could happen depending on need."
Blatt admitted that he got the idea from San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. The veteran coach rested his stars - Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili - to keep them healthy in the playoffs, which worked well because they advanced to the Finals the past two seasons and won one earlier this year.
"I noticed a lot of what Pop does because he does it pretty well," Blatt said. "In my last years in Europe, I was coaching close to 80 games each year. I know what it is. The travel was a lot harder where I was than it was here. Players are here to play, and it's our job to get them ready and keep them healthy so they can participate in every game, but it doesn't always work out that way."
Cleveland Cavaliers' roster is one of the best in the league as they are loaded with players who could tear opponents apart on offense, but Blatt said that he wants the Cavs to become a defensive-minded team, reiterating that it will be the key to winning it all next season.
"The message was and is simply that there's no reason why you can't go out there and lay it out there on defense," Blatt said in a Cleveland Cavaliers roster rumors via Cleveland.com. "You're not going to win a lot of games if you don't play good defense. We know that we have to be good at that end of the floor."
