Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James had an anti-inflammatory injection in his back earlier this week, general manager David Griffin told ESPN.com.
James has been dealing with a sore back, but Griffin said the injection was mostly performed out of caution and to take advantage of the downtime before the start of the season.
Coach David Blatt said Thursday that James might sit out the remainder of the preseason.
The Cavs have two more exhibition games on Sunday and Monday before the season opener on Oct. 27 against the Bulls in Chicago.
The Cavs planned to restrict James’ preseason minutes to save him for the regular season. He did not play for the second straight night on Thursday against the Indiana Pacers.
“We’re really happy with how LeBron came into camp. Came in great shape,” Blatt said Thursday. “We want to take good care of him for the start of the season. As you know in his great and storied career, he has amassed a lot of miles. We’re trying to keep those preseason miles to a minimum.”
The 30-year-old James, entering his 13th NBA season, is averaging 11 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in the two preseason games he has played in Cincinnati and Columbus.
James is one of the few healthy Cavs players. Kyrie Irving (knee surgery), Iman Shumpert (wrist surgery), Kevin Love (shoulder surgery), J.R. Smith (hamstring), Matthew Dellavedova (sore ankle) and Timofey Mozgov (knee surgery) have missed games or have yet to play during the presason.
“I’m not having fun right now,” Blatt said after the Cavs lost 107-85 to the Pacers on Thursday night to drop to 0-5 in the preseason. “This has been a tough week.”