LeBron confident Cavs have enough depth to tread water early

Despite ranking as the odds-on favorites to win the championship, there's a good chance the Cleveland Cavaliers will struggle out the gate.

That's because they won't have their full complement of players for the start of the season. Injuries and Tristan Thompson's holdout have left the Cavaliers rather thin for the time being.

The natural response would be for LeBron James to step up and bridge the gap, as he did in the NBA Finals, but James doesn't think that will be necessary.

"I will lead this team, but I don't have to carry it," James told Dave McMenamin of ESPN on Wednesday.

"Until Kyrie (Irving) and Tristan (Thompson) and Iman (Shumpert) are ready, we have enough guys that will all help. It's not about me carrying the team and that nature. We're all grown men, we're all professionals and they're here to do their job."

Head coach David Blatt will carefully manage James's workload as the 30-year-old heads into his 13th season, and while it might be tempting to lean on him to play extended minutes, adding extra miles onto James's odometer for a few inconsequential games early in the season would be a poor decision.

Keeping James on a sensible minute restriction, however, might prove difficult. Irving most likely won't be ready for opening night, Kevin Love has yet to participate in 5-on-5 drills, Thompson is negotiating a contract, and Shumpert is out at least 10 weeks with a wrist injury.

Furthermore, Timofey Mozgov and Anderson Varejao are reportedly behind on their conditioning heading into camp, leaving Cleveland with little to work with.

Therefore, it's up to James's teammates (the healthy ones at least) to step up. In particular, veteran additions Mo Williams, Richard Jefferson, and Sasha Kaun will be pressed into duty early to fill-in for Cleveland's missing players.