LeBron James out 2 weeks with knee and back strains

LeBron James is expected to miss two weeks as he rests and rehabilitates strains to his left knee and lower back, the Cavaliers announced Thursday. “Tests included physical exam, radiographs and a MRI, the results of which revealed left knee and low back strains,” the team announced.

The injury is coming at a bad time, with point guard Kyrie Irving working his way back from injury himself and forward Kevin Love struggling with back spasms. If James misses the full two weeks, he will sit out eight to nine games, including a five-game Western Conference road trip that includes contests against Golden State, Phoenix and the L.A. Clippers. Cleveland also faces Dallas and Houston at home.

James has been bothered by knee trouble all season, but especially since Christmas, when he jumped into the crowd to chase an errant pass. He finished the game and played in Cleveland’s next two contests, but sat out its last two. He was dealing with back trouble as far back as the preseason.

James has remained an excellent player, but his production isn’t at his previous level. His shooting percentage is down eight percentage points from last year, as is his rebounding, scoring production and defensive energy. The hope is that a couple weeks of rest will leave him fresher for the rest of the season. He admitted recently that the wear and tear from so many deep playoff runs is catching up to him.

The Cavaliers are a disappointing 18-14, which puts them fifth in the Eastern Conference, but six games behind first-place Toronto and four games behind fourth-place Chicago. They have a 1.5-game cushion between sixth-place Milwaukee that is likely to hold, but hope of securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs is slipping away.