Being in the league at 38 years old is an achievement on its own, but Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has exceeded all previous expectations set for a player of his age this season. Despite being one of the oldest players in the league, James has undoubtedly been the best player for the Lakers this season.
It is evident from LeBron James‘ stats so far as he is currently averaging 29.8 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 7.0 APG while playing 36.3 minutes per game. Even after that, the Lakers are currently one of the worst teams in the Western Conference. Following their loss against the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers have an underwhelming record of 20-25.
Darvin Ham On LeBron James’ Increased Minutes With Anthony Davis Sidelined
For the first few weeks of the season, Anthony Davis was having a great season. After a bumpy start to the season, Davis carried the Purple and Gold in winning several games. But he is currently sidelined due to an injury. While Davis is expected to return to the roster soon, his absence has led to James playing heavy minutes.
Lakers head coach Darvin Ham recently spoke about James’ extended minutes. Ham revealed he honestly feels bad for putting so much pressure on LeBron during the 20th NBA season of his career.
(Starts at 2:11)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WJKkxKnnTQ
“I feel bad about that. He’s playing at an amazing level, but again we can’t run him in the ground. That was one of my main goals coming into this season. Here he is again with 36 and a half again tonight, but we just have to manage him and have clarity in terms of scaling back his minutes and, again, the non-game days being smart. His preparation is always on point. … It is a concern and my staff and I, we take about it all the time.
But It’s tough because he’s such a competitor and we’re in these games and he wants to win, we want to win, so you kind of lose sight until after the game when you check the statsheet.”
Ham seems genuinely concerned about James playing too many minutes at this stage in his career. But showing concern won’t do much good for James. Hopefully, when Anthony Davis is back, James can play fewer minutes in some games to recover and be ready for the playoffs, if the Lakers qualify for it.
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.
