Cavaliers notebook: James backing Indians in ALCS

Add baseball analyst to the list of things LeBron James brings to the Cavaliers.

<p class="MsoNormal">Since talking of his love of the Yankees -- and wearing their hat to last week's ALDS Game 1 in Cleveland -- James has spent plenty of time talking baseball.

<p class="MsoNormal">That didn't change an hour or so before the Cavaliers opened the preseason Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena. The Indians eliminated the Yankees the previous night, and James took the loss better than most New Yorkers.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Like I said before, if it's got to be to be one team that beats New York, I want Cleveland to beat them," James said. "And I hope Cleveland does the same thing (in the ALCS vs. Boston) they did in New York, and I think they got a great chance. I want them to win.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I think that the Indians are a great team, that they're the better team. They took it to them, as simple as that. That manager's done a great job with those guys."

<p class="MsoNormal">So yes, look for James to be wearing an Indians cap the next time he watches them play. He also sees comparisons between the Indians and the way the Cavs surprised many by reaching the NBA Finals last June.

<p class="MsoNormal">"They just remind me of our team, how you look on paper and it doesn't look like you have too much," James said. "But when you go out there, you always give yourself a chance to win, and that's exactly what they did."

<p class="MsoNormal">Starting five

<p class="MsoNormal">Head Coach Mike Brown went with James, Daniel Gibson, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas as his starters for the preseason opener with the Wizards.

<p class="MsoNormal">But Brown is far from being set on any sort of rotation or calling one particular group his first unit. "There's nothing set in stone," he said.

<p class="MsoNormal">No timetable

<p class="MsoNormal">Brown is unsure when he might begin to trim the roster. The Cavaliers have 20 players on their roster, with 18 in camp. Restricted free agents Sasha Pavlovic and Anderson Varejao remain unsigned and out of camp. Also, guard Eric Snow is rehabbing from knee surgery a week ago, and forwards Cedric Simmons and Darius Rice are nursing minor injuries.

<p class="MsoNormal">With that in mind, Brown wants to keep enough bodies around for practice and to use in preseason games. The Cavaliers are playing three games in four days.

<p class="MsoNormal">"You don't want to give guys too many minutes," Brown said.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ready to go

<p class="MsoNormal">James does not mind the busy start to the preseason. "I think it's good," he said. "We've been going hard through two-a-days. ... You want to try to get some games and go against someone else."

<p class="MsoNormal">Reach Repository sports writer Chris Beaven at (330) 580-8345 or e-mail chris.beaven@cantonrep.com

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