Friday, January 23, 2004
He's not expected to play tonight, and could miss several games.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The Cavaliers may be about to experience how life would have been had they not won the NBA draft lottery.
Rookie LeBron James, who sprained his right ankle during a win at Utah during the weekend, is not expected to play tonight when Cleveland plays host to Seattle.
"He wasn't walking too good on it," Cavs coach Paul Silas said Monday after practicing without his 19-year-old leading scorer.
Silas is planning for James to miss at least one game -- and perhaps a few more.
"We just have to make do until he comes back," he said. "If he doesn't play, somebody will have to step in and step up. We've got to win games."
Won't have Ilgauskas
If the potential loss of James weren't troubling enough, the Cavs learned they will also play without center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
The 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas received a one-game suspension without pay by the NBA on Monday for throwing a punch at Jazz center Greg Ostertag in Saturday's game. Ilgauskas' suspension will cost him $150,000.
Further, the club could also be without forward Darius Miles, who never made it to practice Monday.
James (20.4) and Ilgauskas (14.1) account for more than one-third of Cleveland's scoring, forcing Silas to look elsewhere for points.
Twisted ankle
James scored 29 points before twisting his ankle when he landed on the foot of Utah's Andrei Kirilenko in the final seconds of regulation in Saturday's comeback win -- Cleveland's first at Utah since 1989.
The No. 1 overall draft pick was unable to put any weight on his ankle, and was carried to the locker room. James was kept out of practice and received treatment Monday while his teammates worked out at Gund Arena.
James, who was on crutches at a high school game on Sunday night, was not available for comment.
Though the Cavs continue to say there is a chance James may play, a more likely scenario is that he will rest his ankle a few more days.
Home to Kings
Cleveland plays host to the Sacramento Kings in a nationally televised game Thursday, and chances are James will do everything he can to be ready for it.
General manager Jim Paxson said there wasn't much swelling in James' ankle, but that it was still very sore.
"Ankles are different for everybody," Paxson said. "One guy could miss one or two games, another guy a week and another guy a month or two months."
Paxson said the Cavaliers will be careful with James -- but not just because he's the franchise's future.
"We're going to err on the side of caution with any of our guys if we think they are going to make it worse," he said.
While James had an excuse for skipping Monday's practice, Miles did not.
Not at practice
Miles was a no-show for the team's first workout since returning from a six-game road trip.
"It's a concern when he's not here," Silas said. "I'm not one to cut off my nose to spite my face. If he has a legitimate excuse, he'll be fined and life goes on.
"If it isn't, we'll deal with it. I don't like to prejudge, but it better be a good excuse."
Miles did not contact the Cavaliers until after practice, a team spokesman said.
With the trading deadline approaching, Miles has drawn interest from other teams.
After playing 29 minutes at Seattle and 27 vs. Golden State last week, Miles got in for just eight against the Jazz.