Despite missing practice, LeBron James will start for the Miami Heat tonight
The Miami Heat have confirmed that not only will LeBron James, who has been suffering from a bruised right shin, play against the New Orleans Hornets on Friday 5 November, but he will
occupy his regular starting spot. The Heat will look for their fifth-straight win at the New Orleans Arena as they take on one of only three undefeated teams in the league.
James was forced to miss his team’s practice on Thursday 4 November because of his bruised shin but the two-time reigning MVP did participate in the Heat’s hour-long shoot-around on Friday.
"He went through the whole shoot-around, and he's feeling better and he's ready to play," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "If we really needed him, and it wasn't a back-to-back, he could
have practiced yesterday."
The Heat’s match-up against the Hornets is the first game of a back-to-back, with the New Jersey Nets paying a visit to Miami on Saturday 6 November.
James hasn’t missed any time since suffering the injury in the Heat’s 101-78 win over the New Jersey Nets on Sunday 31 October. He stayed in that game and also managed 32 minutes in a
129-97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday 2 November.
Now entering his eighth year in the league, James has been reliable throughout his career, never missing more than seven games in a season.
After losing their season opener 88-80 to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday 26 October, the Heat have reeled off four straight easy wins, including a 26-point win over the Orlando Magic, their
division rivals.
In his first five games, James is averaging 20.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game, while Dwyane Wade is leading the Heat in scoring with 22.4 points per game. Chris Bosh’s
statistical output has taken the biggest hit of the three as he is only averaging 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds, down from his career averages of 20.1 points and 9.4 rebounds.
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