In early November, star-crossed Cavs point guard Derrick Rose suffered another lower-body injury, this one coming in the form of a sprained ankle. If we're being honest, LeBron James is the only current Cav who can truly run the point, so you'd think the Cleveland organization would be thrilled about this:
After a self-imposed exile, guard Derrick Rose flew to Cleveland this morning and plans to report to the Cavaliers practice facility, league sources tell ESPN. He’s expected to meet with front office officials and begin the process of returning to the team.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 4, 2017
If you count yourself among the thrilled, you might want to reconsider.
Rose last suited up for Cleveland on November 7th. The Cavs dropped their next game -- Houston, forgivable -- but haven't lost since. Last night, still sans the former MVP, the Cavs won their 12th in a row, beating Rose's former team, Chicago. (Then again, everybody beats the Bulls, but still.)
This streak is all fine and good for Cleveland's record -- after a 4-7 start, they're now 17-7, good for second overall in the East -- but it might not be great for LeBron's motor.
Over his last 10 games, James has averaged 35.3 minutes a night, a reasonable (for him) number that's over three fewer minutes than his career average. But don't forget that with all of his lengthy trips through the postseason, the dude’s played a minimum of 88 games in each of his 14 years in the league. Over the last six years, it’s been closer to 100.
But don't stress, Ohio, because you have this to look forward to:
Windhorst: Internally, the #Cavs are shooting for mid-December for a return of Isaiah Thomas. He is ramping up to 3-on-3 work.
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) November 28, 2017