INDEPENDENCE, Ohio – This was not what the Cavaliers wanted for LeBron James in terms of his minutes.
James is averaging 37.1 minutes per game through 21 games this season – a full minute more than he averaged in 2014-15.
His 36.1 minutes per game last season were a career low, but the idea was to drop that number even lower, to perhaps 34 minutes per night.
For a quick reminder of why his minutes load matters, last week James went over 44,000 NBA minutes for his 13-year career. The Cavs are trying to manage his mileage.