The injured elbow that slowed LeBron James down during the postseason is finally healed, says Miami Heat President Pat Riley. Miami Herald reporter Michael Wallace writes that James and Chris Bosh recently passed voluntary conditioning tests and have recovered from injuries that limited both late last season and into the playoffs. James played with a strained right elbow during Cleveland's...
Pat Riley says LeBron James' elbow is fine now. The injured elbow that slowed LeBron James down during the postseason is finally healed, says Miami Heat President Pat Riley.
Miami Herald reporter Michael Wallace writes that James and Chris Bosh recently passed voluntary conditioning tests and have recovered from injuries that limited both late last season and into the playoffs.
James played with a strained right elbow during Cleveland's playoff run that ended with a six-game loss to Boston in the second round of the playoffs. Bosh sustained a facial fracture April 6 that required surgery. He missed the final five games of the regular season with Toronto. He also has missed dozens of games in recent years with soreness in both knees.
Although James and the Cavaliers initially downplayed the significance of the strain last season, Riley said Thursday ``it was a real injury'' the Heat checked out after James signed with the Heat as a free agent in July.
To make sure before they signed James, Riley said LeBron passed a physical examination before signing his six-year, $110 million contract. Riley also said James has not shown any discomfort in workouts,
``There was some soreness there, and there was some treatment there,'' Riley said of James' elbow during Thursday's preseason press conference at AmericanAirlines Arena. ``It was a real injury, based on what we found out. But it's all fine now. He's getting up a lot of shots and he doesn't look like he's having any after-effects from it at all.''
James' right elbow had been a sensitive subject during the playoffs, James even shot a free throw with his left hand against Chicago. There was speculation the injury played a key role in a subpar performance from James in Cleveland's series loss to Boston, and there was also speculation, in light of James' departure to Miami, that the injury was a fake.
James has not conducted interviews with the mainstream media since July 9, and it is unclear if his injury required surgery over the summer. James also has not made any references to his elbow on his popular Twitter feed this offseason.