LeBron James' Playing Time Not a Concern in Playoffs, Tyronn Lue Says

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James played 43.8 minutes per game during his team's first-round playoffs sweep of the Indiana Pacers, but his coach wasn't particularly concerned about the workload Wednesday.

"Of course, we're always cognizant of LeBron's minutes, but in looking at this situation, we didn't look at the minutes as an issue," Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "It makes more sense to close out the series and have the additional rest versus playing potentially even more minutes, potentially 96-144 more minutes."

"I mean, I don't understand why people make a big deal out of minutes," Lue continued, stressing James had a week off before the Indiana series and earned another week off with the sweep.

McMenamin noted the 32-year-old James' 37.8 minutes per game in the regular season led the league. However, Lue pointed out "Bron today just said he feels worse when he doesn't play," and suggested the heavy workload prepared him for the postseason.

It's not as if the Cavaliers are playing in high-pressure, physically-draining battles on a nightly basis at this point of the playoffs either, seeing how Monday's contest against the winner of the Toronto Raptors-Milwaukee Bucks series will be James' fourth game in two weeks.

Leading the league in minutes may be a concern for some, but James has displayed superhuman-like durability his entire career.

He has been in the league since 2003 and played fewer than 74 games just twice—69 in 2014-15 and 62 in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign. He has also averaged 38.9 minutes per game in his career during the regular season and 42.2 minutes a night in 203 postseason contests.

The Cavaliers are going to need James on the court if they are going to repeat as champions, especially if they ultimately match up with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for the third straight year.

"If Bron plays 46 minutes and [Kyrie Irving] plays 45 minutes and we win, then it's worth it," Lue said. "And if we need them to play that many minutes to win in the playoffs, then it's absolutely worth it."