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Heat’s James out with back spasms
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
BOSTON — Miami Heat forward LeBron James, who scored 43 points the night before, was a late scratch with back spasms for Wednesday night’s game against the Boston Celtics.
The move was made after Miami coach Erik Spoelstra met with reporters before the game.
James’ third absence of the season comes a day after he scored 43 points in 42 minutes during the Heat’s 100-96 victory in Cleveland on Tuesday.
James had been dealing with varying levels of soreness in his back throughout the season.
The Heat have won both their previous games James has missed.
James is averaging 27 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists this season.
During the pregame session with reporters, James talked about the Heat needing to enter the playoffs as healthy as possible.
“Obviously, none of us is going to be 100 percent going into the playoffs,” James said, per ESPN.com. “But it is what it is. That’s the team we are. We’ve played a lot of basketball over the last four years. Guys have to be smart about certain situations and understand that if they can go, then go. But right now, we would rather go into the playoffs with 15 guys (full roster) instead of 13 or 12.”
