LeBron James Apologizes for Technical Foul for Substituting Himself Out vs Hawks
Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James subbed himself out in the third quarter of Saturday's 109-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks without a buzzer, leading to a technical foul.
Richard Jefferson couldn't check in on time after James exited the floor, leaving the Cavs with only four players on the court. James apologized for the situation afterward, saying, "I blew a gasket. You know what that mean? I apologized to my teammates for it," per ESPN.com's Dave McMenamin.
In an ongoing mission to deliver a championship to the glory-starved city of Cleveland, James is evidently not taking any step along the way lightly.
What set King James off during Saturday's contest was a bad pass into the post from Jared Cunningham that went out of bounds, according to McMenamin. The Cavs were leading 72-46 at the time and were in the process of putting distance between themselves and Atlanta atop the Eastern Conference in a big win.
"That's not the point," James said when asked why he was so upset when his team had a big lead, per McMenamin.
Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio pointed out how the Cavs nevertheless made a big statement against the opponent they swept in the most recent Eastern Conference Finals:
Cavaliers head coach David Blatt resorted to a cross-sports comparison to make light of the unusual substitution situation involving James:
"You know, 'Bron is a lot of things -- a lot of great things -- but probably where you're not going to see him is out there playing for the [Lake Erie] Monsters [an AHL team based in Cleveland] or the [New York] Rangers. You know what I mean? But he was frustrated. I understand his frustration, but obviously, you shouldn't do that.
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The four-time NBA MVP can be demonstrative on the court at times, but rarely does James let his emotions get the best of him to the extent that he's assessed a technical foul. Incidents such as what happened Saturday are few and far between for the 30-year-old veteran, who stuffed the stat sheet at Quicken Loans Arena with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
It's understandable James wants his team to remain focused in the beginning of a long season as prohibitive favorite in the East, but he has to be pleased with where Cleveland is overall to date. Without key players, such as All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and swingman Iman Shumpert, Blatt's squad has still managed a 10-3 record.
The man who's been filling in well for Irving, Mo Williams, missed the Hawks game with a right ankle injury, and center Timofey Mozgov was also out of action with an injured shoulder.
If the Cavs can continue weathering the early adversity brought on by numerous injuries, James can probably rest a little easier—especially once Cleveland is at full strength in 2015-16.
