Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers have been excited to see their new roster in action after Rob Pelinka went to work at the trade deadline. They won against the Golden State Warriors when a lot of their new players took the floor, and many thought that the win was a turning point for their season. But the team is still not whole.
LeBron James, who last took the court when he became the all-time NBA leading scorer, hasn’t played for the Lakers since. This has been thanks to a foot injury that has been reported as an ankle issue. James was playing a lot before he started sitting, and that has reportedly led to some further complications.
The expectation is that when LeBron James returns to the court, the Lakers will go on a winning run to get back into the playoff conversation in the Western Conference. But it’s hard to tell when he will return, as many thought he would have been back already. And now, reports coming out about the organization are suggesting that there has been some unhappiness regarding how his injury has been dealt with.
NBA Insider Says LeBron James’ Minutes Despite Injury Have Raised Eyebrows Within The Lakers
Even with the roster looking great, a lot else has to go right for the Lakers to achieve success this season. Head Coach Darvin Ham has received his fair share of criticism at times, and it seems another issue related to him has now come up. Dave McMenamin spoke on the Hoop Collective Podcast about some frustration within the Lakers over how many minutes an injured LeBron James has played.
(starts at 10:48 minutes)
“The first I heard of it being something that really gave me pause and, ‘okay, this is more so than something he’ll just kind of work through,’ was after the New Orleans game. When we played 40 minutes. It was the third time on that road trip he played 40+ minutes. Now two of them were overtime games, but still.
“38 years old, 20th season, 40+ minutes, on the regular. And some of the people I speak to, around the team, were like, ‘What are we doing here? Are we going to run him into the ground?’ And it’s not the minutes, necessarily, it’s the minutes while a player is dealing with something that’s been pervasive…”
The Los Angeles Lakers cannot afford for LeBron James to pick up a long-term issue with injury this season, they have revamped the roster to win now. So Darvin Ham has to be particular about how many minutes he plays James when the King is available once again. The Lakers are a delicate balancing act, but now at least, they have the players to hopefully make a serious move toward the postseason.
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