INDEPENDENCE, Ohio - This was not what the Cavaliers wanted for LeBron James.

James is averaging 37.1 minutes per game through 21 games this season - a full minute more than he averaged in 2014-15. His 36.1 minutes per game last season were a career low, but the idea was to drop that number even lower, to perhaps 34 minutes per night.

For a quick reminder of why his minutes load matters, last week James went over 44,000 NBA minutes for his 13-year career. The Cavs are trying to manage his mileage.

When James was averaging about 40 minutes per game early last season, he called for those minutes to come down. Now, he's shrugging off his early season uptick.

"I'm not a 31-, 32-minute guy. That's just not, that ain't me," James said after practice on Thursday. The Cavs start a two-game road trip to Orlando and Boston Friday night against the Magic.

The reason for the increase in James' minutes is obvious: the Cavs haven't been healthy all season and two of their best players - Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert - have yet to play a game.

James' usage rate, or the rate with which he scores, assists, or otherwise affects possessions with the ball in his hands, is 32.9 percent - fourth highest in the NBA among players who've appeared in at least 15 games.

You may have heard, James didn't play against the Heat on Saturday night because he was given the night off. But he's gone over 40 minutes his last two games - an overtime loss to New Orleans last Friday in which he scored 23 in the fourth quarter, and his 33-point effort Tuesday in a win over Portland.

"I couldn't have dragged him out of there with a crane," coach David Blatt said. "It wasn't even easy to drag him out of the Miami game and he didn't even dress. When that happens you just have to grin and bear it."

Blatt said on Thursday there was a chance Irving or Shumpert (or both) could play against Orlando or Boston, which would logically make it easier to reduce James' minutes.

But James isn't really looking to sit. He's leading the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring (8.9 points), and he's fifth in the league with an overall average of 26.5. He's also averaging nearly two more rebounds per game (7.9 to 6.0) than he did last season.

"I'm playing at a high level," James said. "I'm shooting the ball extremely well and I'm not hurting my team when I'm on the floor. If I'm hurting my team, then I should be sitting down. But I feel good.

"I'm always kind of like in the middle," he continued. I'm not a guy who likes to sit. If we take care of business and we go out and we're able to beat up on a team and I can sit in the fourth, then I can. If not, then I need to play. If I'm in the lineup then I need to be out on the floor. And I'm not saying I have to be out there 48 minutes or 40 minutes. But I'm going to make an impact."