LeBron James, Cavaliers: Won’t 'Carry' Team, Will 'Lead' Them

Apparently, LeBron James really does have enough faith in the Cleveland Cavaliers' talent after all. King James recently admitted that he believes he doesn't have to "carry" his team to the NBA Championship; in fact, he plans on "leading" them instead.

"I will lead this team but I don't have to carry it," James said before a shootaround as the Cavs prepared to play the Atlanta Hawks in their preseason opener at Xavier University on Wednesday night, according to Slam Online. "We have enough guys until all our guys get here.

"Until Kyrie (Irving) and Tristan (Thompson) and Shump (Iman Shumpert) are ready, we have enough guys that will all help. It's not about me carrying the team and that nature. We're all grown men, we're all professionals and they're here to do their job."

The Cavs have added new members to the team in the offseason in an attempt to address the issue of needing more talent by adding Mo Williams, Richard Jefferson and Sasha Kaun to the team.

But the Cavaliers remain injury-ridden, as the other two stars of the Cavs (Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love) are still injured and weren't even able to accompany the team on their two-game preseason road trip just this week.

According to Fox Sports, on Tuesday, Cavs head coach David Blatt, admitted that it would be "realistic" to expect Irving to miss the season opener. Meanwhile, Love refuses to test his shoulder and won't even play full-court 5-on-5 in practice until this weekend.

As far as the rest of the team goes, Iman Shumpert recently underwent surgery for a wrist injury he suffered prior to the start of training camp and will be sidelined for up to three and a half months. While Timofey Mozgov (suffering from knee injuries) and Anderson Varejao (suffering from an Achilles injury) are behind in their fitness as well, as reported by Sports World Report. Tristan Thompson is another situation the Cavs are currently facing, as he holds out, waiting for a new deal. 

Clearly, the Cavs' roster not being in full attendance will be a bit of a predicament in their quest for a championship, but despite all the injuries, James feels the Cavs are still much better equipped for this season as opposed to last.

"I think just as far as a franchise and how we carry ourselves every day is a lot different," James said, according to Cleavland.com. "Last year at the start of the season, I don't think people saw the vision and didn't understand the process. I think guys do now. We know how important every practice, every day is for us to get better.

"And until we're whole, we still won't understand it as a full unit. But we'll approach the game as we should and our coaching staff is going to prepare us the best way every night to be ready for anything, both on and off the floor."

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