The Cleveland Cavaliers very clearly value resting players over securing the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs.
The Athletic’s Jason Lloyd reports that LeBron James will not play in the Cavs’ final regular season game on Wednesday. He says that Kyrie Irving is a possibility for the contest.
LeBron James will not play in Wednesday's season finale against the Raptors, per a team source. Kyrie Irving is a possibility, however.
— Jason Lloyd (@JasonLloydNBA) April 11, 2017
The Cavaliers fell to the second spot in the East after losing in overtime to the Miami Heat on Monday. James did not play in the game, nor did Irving or Kevin Love. That means LeBron will have just about a full week off entering the playoffs.
The Celtics are ahead of them in the standings and host the Milwaukee Bucks in their final game on Wednesday. The Cavs host the Raptors on Wednesday.
Cleveland has lost three in a row, as they dropped consecutive games to the Hawks prior to the loss to the Heat. It’s obvious they want their stars well rested for the playoffs more than they want homecourt advantage in the conference finals.
