The Lakers were stunned in their first preseason game of the year against the Suns when they lost 81-103 at the Acrisure Stadium in Pennsylvania. While the Lakers missed multiple key players on the floor in that game, the biggest names that did not play were LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Following the loss, Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick spoke to the media about his plans on utilizing James and Doncic during the preseason.
“As a coach, you want all those guys out on the court. That’s just the reality. We want to be smart with both of them. Two different situations, but we’re gonna treat it sort of the same way,” said Redick.
JJ Redick then went on to give an update on LeBron James. Earlier reports claimed that LeBron James and the Lakers planned to be “overly cautious” in their approach this season. While it is still uncertain if he will suit up this preseason, James is sticking to his intensive regimen based on what he ascertains is the best for his body at this age.
“For him, it’s different in Year 23,” Redick added. “For a normal return-to-play protocol, we try to get 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3 exposure versus coaches and then eventually live. He knows his body, so we’ll work with him, we’ll work with Mike (Mancias) on making sure he gets a point of comfort where he can sort of be a full participant. But he’s been on the court every day, and he’s been in the weight room continuing to get his body ready. But he’s been doing his individual workouts with (Greg) St. Jean.”
He previously confirmed that while Doncic would miss the first two games, his activities have been “ramped up” over the past week, and he is expected to eventually play in the preseason games.
“Our expectation is that Luka will play in the preseason. We’re gonna use next week to continue to just get him in a good spot with his body and energy and all that stuff. He was great the first two days of camp; it was a lot. I think it made sense, given his workload this summer, to just kind of pull back. He’s in a great place physically, mentally. So we’ll just continue to use next week to get him ramped up and get all the guys acclimated with him.”
We may see Doncic suit up against the Warriors during the Lakers’ next preseason game on October 12. But James seems to be far from playing until the regular season.
