INDEPENDENCE, Ohio _ Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue respects Tristan Thompson's streak of consecutive games played and wants him to continue it as long as he can, which is why he's electing to rest Thompson now while it doesn't count.
Thompson will miss the next couple of preseason games with a sore left foot, Lue said Friday. The Cavs host the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday and play at the Atlanta Hawks on Monday. Thompson practiced Friday with no problems and an MRI on his foot was negative, but Lue isn't taking any chances.
"He wanted to play but it's no need, just to make sure, give him a couple extra days off," Lue said. "Because in practice you can control the play. In the games you can't control when a guy's playing full speed. He looked great, said he feels good, so for my mind I'm just going to hold him out a couple more games."
Thompson leads the league with his streak of 370 consecutive games played. It's a mark in which Thompson takes great pride.
Veteran Chris "Birdman" Andersen started in place of Thompson in the preseason opener. Andersen, 38, could play considerable minutes this season in a role similar to what Timofey Mozgov held last season as Lue tries to limit some of the pounding Thompson takes against some of the league's bigger centers.
"That's where Bird comes in. Bird's been great for us," Lue said. "Just his physicality. Bird's a big part of what we're trying to do."
