Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue left the team’s game against the Bulls on Saturday night due to an unspecified illness, something which has caused concern throughout the Cavaliers franchise.
Cleveland defeated Chicago on the road, ending their 11-game trip. James was asked after the game if Lue’s health has affected the team throughout the season.
“I mean, he’s the captain of the ship, so absolutely,” James said, according to ESPN. “We worry about his health, obviously. That’s way more important than this game of basketball. We know he’s been doing everything he needs to do to stay healthy. Take even more measures to get himself right. Everything that’s been going on with our year, it’s just another one.”
Lue has dealt with illness multiple times this season, but nonetheless, James and the Cavaliers will stay the course and remain focused on the task at hand.
“It doesn’t catch us off-guard because he’s been dealing with it for so long now,” James said. “But any time he doesn’t come back to the bench, it’s just an alarm going off, obviously. Like I said, his health is more important. He’s not going to talk about it, so I don’t want to talk about it no more either. That’s just how he is, and I don’t want to get too much into it.”
Lue appeared to be in good spirits before the game tipped off, according to ESPN. He was seen leaving the team locker room and walking to the team’s bus with associate head coach Larry Drew.
It’s unknown whether Lue will coach in the Cavs’ home game against Milwaukee on Monday.
