LeBron James given day off as Cavaliers play at Wizards

The Cleveland Cavaliers pay a visit to the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center today. The Cavaliers are in a stretch of playing three games in four nights, with James playing the entire second-half of Friday’s loss to the Raptors.

The Cleveland Cavaliers were blown out by the Washington Wizards on Sunday, but a lot of that probably had to do with LeBron James being given the day off. J.R. Smith does not see that as a viable excuse. With the disappointing loss, Cleveland falls to 41-16 overall which puts them just two games clear of Toronto for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland should be motivated to bounce back, as they have covered in their last two games after a loss.

This is only the second game James will have missed this season. He leads the Cavaliers with 24.7 points and 35.9 minutes per game. Lue said his “gut” instinct was to rest him, and he wished he had followed through, according to ESPN. Temple’s backcourt partner and the team’s leading scorer John Wall also contributed, giving 20 points as well as 12 assists. Wall cemented his 34th double-double midway through the third quarter. Wittman said he wants to continue using Beal as a reserve while the player is under a minute restriction. Richard Jefferson started at forward in place of James and finished with 10 points and five rebounds…. Cleveland made only 9 of 29 3-point attempts…. Signed G Jordan McRae to a 10-day contract. F Alan Anderson checked in as a substitute late in the first quarter, his first home action of the season after having surgery on his left ankle….