CLEVELAND _ NBA fans in Miami have been forewarned.
Coach Tyronn Lue said Friday he intends to play LeBron James and Kyrie Irving until the Cavaliers clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
But going into Friday night's game against the injury-depleted Atlanta Hawks at Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs had a 1{-game lead on Boston Celtics and the Cavs' magic number to wrap up the top seed was two games. The Hawks dealt the Celtics a critical blow with a 123-116 victory in Atlanta Thursday night.
After Friday, the Cavs have three regular-season games remaining _ at Atlanta Sunday, at Miami Monday and at home against the Toronto Raptors Wednesday. The Celtics also have three _ Saturday at Charlotte, Monday at home against the Brooklyn Nets and Wednesday at home against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Cavs drew criticism when James sat out the last time they faced the Heat on March 4. James played four seasons in Miami and won two NBA championships there.
"If we can take care of business like we're supposed to, I think that we'd like LeBron and Kyrie to get some rest," Lue said. "I think J.R. (Smith) and (Kyle) Korver and Kevin (Love) should play a little bit because they've been out for so long. Just try to keep J.R.'s rhythm and establish Kevin's rhythm and the same thing with Kyle.
"The most important guys right now are Kyrie and LeBron, just trying to get those guys some rest if we can."
Going into Friday's action, James ranked second in the league in minutes with a 37.6 average and Irving was 15th at 35.0.
