LeBron ready to return against 76ers Friday

Mar 12, 2010 - 12:58 AM INDEPENDENCE, Ohio(AP) -- Cavaliers star LeBron James is tired of watching basketball and ready to start playing again.

James missed two games after twisting his right ankle last Friday against Detroit, but is likely to play at Philadelphia on Friday night.

"I'm always a guy who wants to play every game, but I think now looking back it was definitely the right decision to give the injuries I had some rest," James said Thursday after practicing for the first time this week. "It's not often you can look in the schedule and get a week off and only miss two games, so we took advantage of it."

He says he would have played through the injury had it been the playoffs, but instead the team chose to be cautious. While sidelined, James watched his alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary, win an Ohio high school playoff game on Wednesday.

He also watched NBA games on a wall of televisions in the basement of his 35,000-square foot house.

"I'm very excited," James said about playing the 76ers. "It's going to be a good, fun night."

The news isn't as good for teammate Antawn Jamison. Cavs coach Mike Brown said on his radio show Thursday night that Jamison will sit out Friday's game because of a cyst behind his left knee. Jamison, acquired in a trade last month from Washington, sat out the fourth quarter of Cleveland's win Monday against San Antonio.

Jamison has been bothered by stiffness in his knee all season. He says he can manage it with rest and rehab.