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LeBron James starts camp with 'a little bit of back soreness'

Ken Blaze / USA Today Sports

It was a fun night in Cleveland as LeBron James took his first steps back on the Quicken Loans Arena floor for an intrasquad scrimmage.

Not surprisingly, James had his minutes limited some, checking out for good before the third of three 12-minute periods. On the surface, it seemed like James was just taking it easy as training camp gets rolling. After the game, though, head coach David Blatt revealed that James is working through a minor ailment:

While back soreness isn't alarming on the surface, it's concerning so early in camp. What's more, James struggled through back spasms at times last season, causing frequent panic but just one missed game.

The Cavaliers are correct to monitor his status and push him slowly. It's not as if James is in any danger of not being game-ready for the regular season if he gets fewer reps in the preseason, and the longview could ensure James' streak of never missing more than seven games in a season stays intact.

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