After sitting out Friday's loss to the Indiana Pacers to rest his sore back, LeBron James returned to the lineup as the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Houston Rockets Sunday afternoon.
That's good news for the Cavs, who are without Kyrie Irving as he's suffering from a strained right shoulder.
Cleveland is 35-14 when James is active this season, but is 2-9 when the four-time MVP is in street clothes. In addition, the team performs 17.3 points per 100 possessions better with James on the court as opposed to on the bench, according to Basketball Reference.
If recent history is any indication, James should be in line for a big game against fellow MVP candidate James Harden:
From Elias: LeBron James has averaged 31 pts & shot .603 in 3 games he played after sitting out the Cavs’ previous game.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) March 1, 2015
James is averaging 26 points, 7.3 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists through 49 games.