Cavaliers Notes: James, Future, Gudaitis

LeBron James is on pace to play in all 82 games of a regular season for the first time in his career. Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue feels that James’ leader mentality is driving him to set an example for his teammates, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin writes.

“I just think being the leader of this team, I don’t think he thinks he can take games off, because, you know, guys being hurt and going through a rough patch, and now new guys coming in,” Lue said. “So, I think he’s trying to lead and lead by example … I think we still got to be smart about the situation, but [the training staff] say he feels good.”

James continued his impressive season on Friday in a 112-89 win over the Grizzlies as he recorded his 11th triple-double of the year with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. Cleveland’s roster is revamped and James’ level of play has remained on par with the best of the game.

Check out other Cavaliers notes below:

  • The Cavaliers did win on Friday night but even in their losses, James seems to maintain a positive attitude. Cleveland lost 110-103 to the Wizards on Thursday but James said he likes the team’s direction, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes. “I think we played well tonight, even though we lost,” James said. “I hate losing, obviously, but I think the way we played, the way we shared the ball. Defensively, we were flying around as well and those guys, they just played better than us tonight. I like the start, I like the direction we’re headed.”
  • The Cavaliers have invited Lithuanian big man Arturas Gudaitis to come to Cleveland for a tryout this summer, tweets basketball journalist Donatas Urbonas. Gudaitis, a 2015 second-round pick of the Kings, was sent to the Cavaliers as part of a three-team deal at the deadline. He’s currently with Olimpia Milano of the Italian LBA but his rights are owned by the Cavaliers.
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