LeBron James played just 29 minutes in the Lakers’ season opener against the Nuggets, which ended with a 12-point loss for the purple and gold. James doesn’t have any publicly known injuries right now and made vague comments about ‘following the system that is in place’, possibly shading Darvin Ham for restricting his minutes.
“I mean, I always want to be on the floor, especially when you have an opportunity to win a game and you feel you can make an impact. But I guess there’s a system in place and I’ll follow it.”
"I mean, I always want to be on the floor, especially when you have an opportunity to win a game and you feel you can make an impact. But I guess there's a system in place and I'll follow it."
– LeBron on his limited minutes tonight
(Via @DStarkand ) pic.twitter.com/hzO7avszJV
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 25, 2023
In all likelihood, the comment wasn’t directed toward Ham with negative intentions. James would reveal in his press conference that he knew he was going to be playing limited minutes based on a conversation he had with Ham prior to the game. With the way the game turned out, it’s clear that it was a bad decision, as even six additional minutes with LeBron on the court could’ve swung this game for the Lakers.
LeBron scored 21 points on 62.5% shooting and had a noticeable impact on the game every time he checked in. He ended the game as a +7 on the night, with the Lakers struggling every time he checked out.
Darvin Ham Confirms LeBron James Will Play Limited Minutes
Darvin Ham was asked about LeBron’s minutes after the game and he confirmed that the Lakers plan on keeping his minute workload very low.
“We’ll see. In all likelihood, yes.”
Darvin Ham on if LeBron James’ 29 minutes will be a trend this season: “We’ll see. In all likelihood, yes.”
Ham added that it could build from that number depending on how James feels and what the team’s training staff decides.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 25, 2023
If James is playing fewer minutes, the Lakers have to ask him to be extra aggressive in that time. If we’re seeing just 30 minutes of Bron, he needs to attack the game with all his might and maximize that time, though playing him this conservatively may be a bad idea all around.
The Lakers Need Anthony Davis To Be The No. 1 Option
LeBron James may still be able to be the No. 1 option on the Lakers from a production perspective, but that would be a silly decision given the miles on the 39-year-old’s body. Even though Anthony Davis is injury-prone, the Lakers will not have success unless he decides to be a superstar for the Lakers in the regular season.
Davis only managed 17 points today, going scoreless in the second half, and was comfortably outplayed by Nikola Jokic. This is supposed to be AD’s team, something Charles Barkley has been saying since September.
“At some point, LeBron gonna have to say ‘AD… damn… I’m 100 years old. It’s about time for you to be the best player’. You are in your prime.”
James even implied a similarly positive sentiment towards Davis, repeatedly gassing him up as one of the greatest centers in Lakers history, encouraging him to follow in their footsteps and lead the franchise.
“AD’s amazing. We’ve been here for the longest now, year six for me, year five for AD. We’re both co-captains and he’s just as much a leader of this ball club as I am… AD’s everything that this franchise could want and more… He’s one of the greatest bigs to play for this franchise, for sure.”
It’s unclear how much of a load LeBron can bear this season. He clearly couldn’t deal with it last season, after a stretch of games where James averaged 41 minutes in January, ultimately tenderizing his foot tendon and needing surgery over the summer. The Lakers don’t want that to happen, but they’re being overly cautious right now.
They can’t afford to manage his minutes so aggressively against the Suns on Thursday, or else they’ll fall victim to a 0-2 start in a year they’re hoping to contend for a title.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
