NEW ORLEANS - LeBron James is planning on giving it a go tonight. But what about the rest of the Cavaliers?
James took it easy in the, ahem, Big Easy, on Sunday on the tender left ankle that he re-injured in Saturday's humbling loss to the Mavericks in Dallas. He's expected to play tonight when the Cavaliers attempt to snap their 11-game road losing streak against the lowly New Orleans Hornets. It is a game that's developed into a must-win one.
James landed on Mavericks center Shawn Bradley's foot in the first quarter and turned his ankle, the same way that he first sprained it when he landed on Dahntay Jones of the Memphis Grizzlies in January. He ran softly on it and landed on his right foot on jumpers the rest of the night, scoring 19 points. He sat out the fourth quarter.
"It stopped me from running a lot of plays and cutting off screens; I'll just try to fight through it,'' James said. "We have to come in with a positive attitude, bite down and get a win.''
There's truth behind the Cavaliers' claim that their recent struggles -- 11 losses in 15 games -- can be partially pinned on a devastating portion of the schedule. Facing the 16-53 Hornets followed by the all-time also-ran Los Angeles Clippers on their home floor in a back-to-back to start a daunting five-game week is a golden chance to break that spell.
The rest of this week holds games with three playoff-caliber opponents -- at the Chicago Bulls and home games with the Sacramento Kings and Mavericks.
"We have a lot to play for and everybody realizes it,'' Cavaliers coach Brendan Malone said after running the team through a light practice at New Orleans Arena.
"This is a very important game. We have to play with intensity and jump on this team.''
The Hornets, first ruined by a run of injuries and then gutted in a series of trades, are the healthiest they've been in four months with the recent return of center Jamal Magliore, who missed 51 games, and the activation of forwards David West and Chris Andersen.
The results were immediate as New Orleans captured its biggest victory of the season on Saturday by winning at Memphis, the Hornets' first victory in their own Southwest Division all season.
So the Cavaliers, who are 1-2 under Malone and have fallen to the No. 6 slot in the Eastern Conference, shouldn't expect a rollover, just another stern test.
"This is who we have. We've had them since the beginning of the season, it's on us to try to make the playoffs,'' James said. "We have to stay positive and look deep.''
