LeBron questionable against Wizards Saturday
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- LeBron James suffered a scratched cornea in his right eye in a win Friday over Charlotte and hinted he might not be available to play against the Washington Wizards on Saturday.
"If coach decides to give me a game off, it's not because I'm resting," James said. "It's because I'm banged up."
James suffered the injury with 31.2 seconds left in the third quarter when Jeremy Lamb poked him in the eye on his way to a layup. James stayed in the game and scored 32 points, but he complained of blurred vision and couldn't keep his right eye open after the game.
James also fell hard on his lower back in the fourth quarter but stayed in the game.
It was last Saturday when the Cavs caused quite a stir in the NBA by resting James, Irving, and Kevin Love against the Clippers.
The Wizards' primary star, John Wall, is also battling a health issue. He played Friday and scored 22 points with nine assists in a 129-108 win over Brooklyn with a migraine headache. He said his head was still hurting after the game.
"It's not as bad as it was this morning," Wall said. "Trying to do as much treatment as I can and prepare myself for (Saturday)."
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said he thought it was a good thing that the Boston Celtics were so close to his team in the Eastern standings.
"I think they definitely have our attention," Lue said, after the Cavs beat Charlotte 112-105. "Whatever happens, happens."
What's this got to do with the Washington Wizards? They trail Cleveland by 3.5 games in the East and are 2.5 games behind the Celtics for second place.
Which means a Wizards win over the Cavs at The Q on Saturday night would not only bring them a game closer to catching Cleveland, but would drop LeBron and Co. into a virtual tie with Boston.
"Obviously, you have to pay attention to what's going on out there, especially in the standings, but our focus has always been internally, and what we have to fix internally," said Kyrie Irving, who scored 26 points against the Hornets. "No disrespect to any other team in the league, but when we're playing at a high level, when we're focused and we're dialed in, we're a tough team to beat."
The Cavs are just 6-7 in March and finished a four-game road trip that took them to both coasts Friday in Charlotte. Cleveland went 2-2 on the trip and is just 19-17 on the road this season.
The last time the Cavs and Wizards met, Cleveland pulled out a 140-135 win in overtime in what was one of the best games of the regular season in the NBA.
James banked in a 3-pointer with .9 seconds remaining to tie the score and send that game into overtime, and then the Cavs won without him after he fouled out early in the extra session.
"Oh yeah," Irving said, when asked about the next Cavs-Wizards matchup. "They played extremely well (Friday). Both teams coming off the back to back, great competitive basketball tomorrow."