Strong enough to carry Biggie Smalls on his back.

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There are differing reports about Lebron James’ elbow injury.  The one I trust the most is from the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Brian Windhorst.  Windhorst is a terrific reporter who has been covering Lebron since his high school days.

Although his coach and Cavaliers teammates insist they don’t see anything different about LeBron James’ play in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics, James is scheduled for another MRI on his bothersome right elbow this week, according to team officials.

It will be the second MRI James has had on the elbow. Last week, after the first-round series against Chicago was over but before the semifinals started, James had an MRI and was diagnosed with a strain and a bone bruise in the elbow.

James did not talk with reporters Tuesday, a day after the Cavs lost Game 2, 104-86, to fall into a 1-1 tie in the best-of-seven series.

But Cavs point guard Mo Williams said: “He’s fine. He doesn’t want to talk about the injury. He doesn’t want to hear about it. He doesn’t make excuses. He does what he has to do to get himself prepared to play. He’s going to play.”

This report says that neither Mike Brown nor his teammates see anything different about the way Lebron is playing, which is consistent with what I’ve seen on the court. I mean, he did have 35,7 and 7 the first game, remember? In Game Two Lebron got untracked at the end, suggesting that if he is aggressive and the Celtics let up on their suffocating defense even slightly Lebron is still healthy enough to go to work.

Of course, there is also a report — from the less trusted Ball in Europe of ESPN’s TrueHoop blog network (h/t Red’s Army) — that Lebron’s injury is far more serious than Lebron, or the Cavs, are letting on.

The bombshell: A source close to the Cleveland Cavaliers who wished to remain anonymous has admitted that LeBron James should not playing with his injury in its current state. Apparently, the damage is enough that the right arm of King James – perhaps that should be “King Richard III” for the nonce – is having great difficulty in carrying anything heavier than a basketball.

If Lebron can’t carry anything heavier than a basketball, it’s no wonder that he’s having trouble carrying the Cavs.

But seriously, this report is tough to trust. For one, there’s that whole 35, 7 and 7 Lebron posted in Game One. For two, there’s his nonchalant, “we’re still going to win this series, the Game Two Loss didn’t matter” attitude. Seriously, if Lebron couldn’t lift anything heavier than a basketball, would he be so goddamn confident? Would he stroll into the press conference like his team ruled the world and the Celtics were nothing but an insignificant nuisance? No chance. For three, there’s the source of the ‘news story:’ Ball in Europe? Are you kidding me? It’s a good blog, yes, but methinks I’ll trust Brian Windhorst and my own two eyes rather than Ball in Europe. And for four, the killer that likely disproves the report all in itself? He was fine when he was lifting both his MVP trophies at the same time. Now I’ve never felt an MVP Trophy but, if I had to guess, I’d wager my whole life that it weighs more than a basketball. Those things aren’t made of fucking plastic, folks.