The Los Angeles Lakers’ minute plan for LeBron James lasted a total of…seven quarters.
Out of necessity, LeBron (along with Anthony Davis) played the entire fourth quarter of the Lakers’ home opener Thursday night at Crypo.com Arena. The Lakers struggled to beat Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns 100-95.
Lakers’ initial LeBron James playing time plan
Two days ago, in a 119-107 loss to the Denver Nuggets, LeBron was limited to 29 minutes — well below his unsustainable average of 35.5 minutes last season. This summer, the Lakers built a roster they believed had the necessary depth, youth and continuity to significantly ease James’ burden.
Currently, the Lakers are far from perfect. In Denver, LeBron is far and away their most efficient player; when he rests, the Lakers are outscored by 19 points. The Lakers trailed by four when Davon Ham replaced him with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter. When LeBron reentered the game in the 6th minute, the deficit had grown to 12 points.
Afterward, Ham revealed that “most likely” LeBron’s daily workload will remain around 30 minutes — an approach developed in collaboration with LeBron, management and medical staff. LeBron claimed he was not “upset” by the situation.
“It’s easy for him to get caught up in the emotion of a game and you tend to forget you want to play such a long game,” Ham admitted. “But in order for him to be as efficient as possible, we have to pay attention to the output per minute and his stretch time.”
If LeBron is upset or surprised about his playing time: “No, I’m not surprised. I’ve talked to coach. We had a game plan going into Game 1. Not surprised or upset.” https://t.co/GUZLNePN7M
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) October 25, 2023
Lakers clarify plans with Lakers, Suns
The Lakers clarified the plan during Thursday’s shootaround.
“The feeling is, this is a guideline, not a hard cap,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said in reporting on LeBron’s minutes. “So if LeBron James plays 30 minutes or so and it’s a close game and there’s a few minutes left in the fourth quarter, he’s going to stay on the floor.”
The Lakers struggled against Phoenix. They shot 42.9% from the field and 5 of 29 (17.2%) from three-point range. After the buzzer in the third quarter, with LeBron playing 23 minutes and the Lakers trailing by 12 minutes, Ham asked James if there were 12 minutes left in his 38-minute game. The body of a year old. Hamm intentionally got three timeouts in case he needed a break for LeBron.
LeBron assured Ham that he had enough gas in the tank. (The Lakers’ upcoming two-day break may make that decision easier.)
“I said, ‘How do we feel? What do we want to do?'” Hamm recalled. “He answered my question. “You’ve seen the results. “
The real star of the fourth quarter was the Lakers defense, bolstered by gritty contributions from Christian Wood and Gabe Vincent. They dominated the boards, gave up four shots and forced seven turnovers.
LeBron takes over
LeBron inherited it from there. With the game tied at 91, with about a minute left, James – who scored nine points in the quarter – hit back-to-back hard layups in traffic, sandwiching Durant’s shot in the 35th minute. Mistakes. He finished with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. (Meanwhile, Davis stayed active through the four quarters. He scored 13 points in the fourth quarter and had 30 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals.)
“We needed every ounce,” Ham said of LeBron’s all-around effort. “He’s got that intensity of carrying the team on his shoulders… He’s giving it his all for his team in year 21. I just hope a lot of young pros are paying attention and see what he’s doing.”
“We know when the game comes down to the money, or when the game is close, we know we can make some moves, we know we’re going to at least get a good chance or a good shot,” James noted.
91-91. LeBron made a hard layup, KD missed a three-pointer, and LeBron made a hard layup.Lakers lead by 4 points with 41.0 seconds left pic.twitter.com/r8aermnTBm
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvoNBA) October 27, 2023
LeBron recounted his interaction with Ham before the fourth quarter.
“He asked me, ‘Can I go in that quarter?’ I looked at the time and the score and what was going on in the game and it was an easy answer for myself. I know how much hard work I put in to be able to play. Quarterfinals or whatever happens. I know we’ve got a system in place for sure, but tonight asked me to think outside the box.
“Coach trusts me and I have to go out and prove it.”
For now, this is how the Lakers have to play. Generally speaking, keep LeBron’s minutes around 28-32 minutes, stick to a few timeouts, and let him extend his minutes if needed. How long they take could determine how fresh they are in May and June, and ultimately the Lakers’ ceiling for the season.