LeBron James won't play again this preseason, and there's a chance he'll miss Cleveland's opener with Boston. James didn't practise on Wednesday, a day after he made his exhibition debut after being slowed by a sprained left ankle sustained on September 27.
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said the four-time MVP is sore and has been ruled out of Cleveland's final preseason game Friday night in Orlando. He aggravated his ankle on Tuesday night against Chicago as the Cavs unveiled a new starting lineup featuring James, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder and Kevin Love.
James scored 17 points and had eight turnovers, but the defending Eastern Conference champions fell to 0-4 and it's apparent their new lineup is going to need a lot more time together. There were few sparkling moments as the group was mostly out of sync.
For now, James' injury will prevent the Cavs from working out their offensive kinks. Lue said he's had to alter some plans already. James wanted to play even though he wasn't at full speed. Following the game, he hinted that he might need more time off.
"I definitely wanted to test it tonight knowing that at least if I tested it tonight, I have a week until the regular season started if I don't play in the game on Friday," he said.
The 32-year-old James has never missed an opener in 14 seasons, and this one has some special sizzle. Irving demanded to be traded during the summer and he and James have taken some shots at each other in the past two months.
