LeBron to sit games before playoffs but unsure which ones

LeBron James may hold the entire Eastern Conference playoff bracket in the palm of his hands.

The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar iterated Tuesday that he plans to sit out a few games for rest before the end of the season but remains unsure of which ones he'll take off. This, of course, after he first tried to swerve reporters.

"You rest when you retire," James said before revealing he will, in fact, rest, as he suggested back in mid-March.

Getting James rest makes all the sense in the world with the Cavs more or less locked into the two-seed in the East. There's some benefit to winning still to secure home-court advantage in a potential finals matchup against certain Western Conference teams, but that value comes up short of the value of ensuring James reaches the playoffs fresh.

Because he missed time with a knee injury earlier in the year, James has been tasked with his smallest minutes load since the shortened 2011-12 season. Still, he ranks 26th in the league in total minutes, and the tread on his tires over the last decade is remarkable. He remains incredibly effective, averaging 25.6 points, six rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.6 steals, but his offensive efficiency metrics are as low as they've been since 2006-07.

The big question now becomes who James will sit against. Here's Cleveland's remaining schedule:

Depending on when James plays and doesn't, he could shake up all of the seedings from third to eighth, perhaps even gifting or costing the Boston Celtics a playoff berth in the process. Great power, great responsibility and all.