LeBron James enjoyed a triumphant return to the court on Sunday after a nine-day absence, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies 116-110 at Crypto.com Arena. It looked like James had a lot of gas in the tank in this one and head coach JJ Redick was asked how he saw him impact winning in his postgame press conference.
“He’s the best on our team with his attention to detail and shifts,” Redick said. “His high shift to then close, his high shift to then get back to his man. He was great with that tonight.”
James finished with 18 points (7-17 FG), eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and two blocks against the Grizzlies in Los Angeles after missing time due to personal reasons and a left foot issue. It looked like the 39-year-old had a spring in his step and the nine-day break seems to have greatly helped him. With that in mind, Redick was also asked how the Lakers plan to manage James moving forward.
“I think it requires communication and feedback from both parties,” Redick said. “Maybe it’s not sitting out a game… I told him the night before the game, not necessarily less minutes but sort of shorter runs so that he’s not getting gassed and then quicker segments on the bench and then he’s back in. So, there’s different ways to do it than just to say, ‘We’re going to rest you and you’re going to sit out a game.'”
James played 34 minutes on his return against the Grizzlies and it doesn’t look like his minutes will be going down. Also, while Redick had made it clear he didn’t want LeBron to play all 82 games this season, it doesn’t seem as if he is actively looking to give him the odd night off. He plans to manage his 39-year-old superstar in a way that would allow him to be on the court as much as possible.
While one Lakers superstar returned in this game against the Grizzlies, it looked like this contest would see another head to the sidelines. Anthony Davis hurt his shoulder in the third quarter and was forced to head to the locker room afterward. Fortunately, Davis did manage to return and Redick was asked about the big man’s injury after the game too.
“I don’t want to speak for the actual diagnosis is here,” Redick stated. “I would just say that he had the stinger a couple of games ago. Told me tonight it was a stinger again.”
Davis had 40 points (15-22 FG), 16 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block against the Grizzlies. The 31-year-old’s mid-range game was on point here and has been in recent games and Redick was asked how that helps out the offense.
“It forces defenses to honor space and then it allows him to create opportunities to draw fouls,” Redick explained. “So, it’s important… We’re struggling right now from beyond the line, so if can’t get layups and we’re taking mid-rangers, those mother-effers better go in or we’re going to have trouble scoring.”
The Lakers have shot 30% from three in their last 10 games, which ranks 29th in the league in that time. They certainly need those mid-range shots to fall if they are to win games. The Lakers improved to 14-12 on the season with this win over the Grizzlies and will now look to make it two in a row when they take on the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on Thursday at 10 PM ET.
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