LeBron James: Not breaking down, despite poor showing

Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James  (AP Photo/Matt York)

Ohio — Coming off his worst game of the season — a 12-point, six-turnover debacle on 5-for-18 shooting in a loss to the Detroit Pistons — LeBron James vowed that his body is not breaking down as the season drags on into the post All-Star, pre-playoffs dog days.

In fact, James said he’s better off this season at 31 years old than he was last season, when he missed a career-high 13 games, including a two-week hiatus to rest.

“It’s how my body was feeling,” James said Wednesday after the Cleveland Cavaliers held shootaround in preparation for a 114-103 win over the Charlotte Hornets. “Last year I was banged up. It’s not a mindset, it’s just reality. This year I feel 10 times better than I did last year. So that’s the mindset.”

James has sat out only one game through the Cavs’ 41-15 start to the season. However, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue told reporters after the loss to the Pistons that his gut instinct was to rest James that night and that he wished he followed through on it.

Lue previously stated that his goal was for the Cavs to clinch the No. 1 seed in the East before he started resting James, a 13-year veteran, in preparation for the postseason.

James admitted making five straight trips to the Finals has started to catch up with him, but not that he would consider sitting out games.

“I guess I’ve played so much basketball, man, feeling great, those days are pretty much over,” James said. “I don’t know anybody that’s played 13 years that you can say, ‘Oh, I woke up and I feel great.’ I feel great as far as life and getting an opportunity to wake up, but as far as me feeling like a 23-year old, those days are passed.”

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is known for periodically pulling his players from the lineup to protect them for the long haul. James did not want to compare the Cavs’ practices to the Spurs’, however. ESPN

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