The Lakers will learn valuable lessons from LeBron James and his massive workload at the start of the 2023-24 season.
What LeBron James has done at age 38 is nothing short of remarkable. The Los Angeles Lakers star leads the team with 25.7 points per game and currently ranks 13th in the league in scoring as LeBron leads the Lakers to a 9-6 record through his first 15 games. That’s a significant improvement from the 5-10 start at this point last season.
Although the Lakers’ secondary has been plagued by injuries, James has been able to keep his team on his side in the early stages of the schedule, including going 4-0 in the Western Conference Group A of the NBA Inseason Tournament perfect record.
Things are going well in Los Angeles now, and it looks like this team is finally back on the road to championship contention. One major question remains, however, and it concerns James, whose performance has been unable to be replicated by others on the Lakers roster.
LeBron is a unique talent and we all know it. The Lakers have struggled for years when he’s been sidelined with injury, which is why head coach Davin Hamm stressed early in the season that James’ minutes will be closely monitored to ensure he remains fresh. All season long.
LeBron has played at least 35 minutes in nine games since the Lakers played just 29 minutes in their season-opening loss to the Denver Nuggets.
So much for monitoring his playing time, right?
James is averaging 33.6 minutes per game this season, which has raised eyebrows in Los Angeles because the superstar has been injury-prone over the years. Whether they learn the hard way or from Tuesday night’s win over the Utah Jazz, the Lakers will learn later this year why monitoring James’ minutes now makes so much sense.
Monitor LeBron James’ minutes
LeBron James takes better care of his body than anyone in the NBA, which is why he’s still able to play like he does at 40 years old. At the same time, it’s also a fact that James hasn’t been able to consistently get the same playing time as some of the league’s younger stars. This is no disrespect to James and his skill level, but he is older and we all need to accept that.
Therefore, James’ playing time needs to be monitored so that he can and will stay healthy by the end of the season. Although Davon Ham said LeBron only played 29 minutes to start the season, the 19-time All-Star has played less than 30 minutes in a total of four games so far this year.
One of them was obviously the first game of the season against the Nuggets, the second was a 34-point road loss to the Houston Rockets, and the third was the Lakers’ 27-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Most recently, the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 131-99 on Tuesday night. James played just 24 minutes and watched the game’s final 17 minutes from the bench, jogging along with Anthony Davis and Jared Vanderbilt to help his team to the victory.
“I think it’s great to be able to see young guys go out and finish the game. I love that,” James said in his postgame speech. “Being able to sit on the bench and watch Max Christie go out and play his way, AR (Austin Reeves) play his way, C-Wood (Christian Wood) get into a rhythm in the fourth quarter, Rui (Hachimura continues to get better and better, and Jaxson Hayes…I just love seeing young guys come in and perform at a high level, even if we get a big lead. This It’s definitely a benefit.”
While he was initially frustrated to leave the game in the third quarter, James understood that the extra rest could play a role not only in his personal journey, but also in the Lakers’ journey this season. It remains to be seen whether the Lakers fully understand the benefits of giving James extra rest, especially since they won’t necessarily monitor his playing time.
Maybe LeBron’s minutes haven’t diminished as much as they did in Los Angeles’ recent blowout win simply because they played a lot of tight games. Many of the Lakers’ games this season have been one, two and sometimes three possession games where the team needs James on the floor. The fact that they’ve been dealing with so many injuries isn’t conducive to giving the veteran the extra rest he needs.
Whether he rests him on the second night of a back-to-back or takes him out of a 20-point game, the Lakers should start to be more aware of how much time LeBron is actually on the court. By giving him the rest he needs, James will be ready to compete for another championship with the Lakers. If the Lakers continue to crush him early in the season, LeBron’s wear and tear will be inevitable when the Lakers need him most at the end of the regular season in March and April.
Anthony Davis’ role in LeBron’s workload
A big part of LeBron James getting the extra rest he needs falls on Anthony Davis’ shoulders. As the Lakers found success on the court and were able to extend their lead to double digits, Davon Ham was able to start taking his foot off the gas pedal and make more frequent substitutions to allow his star player to get extra of rest.
This is what happens when the Lakers have a blowout win, and their victory over the Jazz is a perfect example of that. When James left the game with about five minutes left in the third quarter, Davis stayed in the game for three more minutes. That might not seem like much overtime, but it allowed Los Angeles to stay ahead and play at a high level without its best player on the floor.
There’s been a lot of talk over the years surrounding Davis and his need to finally step up and take over James’ mantle. Considering his age and the fact that he’s not always on the floor, it seems like LeBron won’t be able to single-handedly lead a team to the NBA Finals like he did for the Cleveland Cavaliers a few years ago.
Is it possible? Of course, this is LeBron James we’re talking about here, so anything is possible. However, the reality is that Davis needs to be the one to take over the game and put the Lakers on a back-to-back. We’ve seen him do this multiple times so far this season, with Davis scoring at least 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in back-to-back games.
The problem with Davis is that he also has some “useless” games in which he barely brings any offense to the Lakers. The Lakers recently lost to the Sacramento Kings by 15 points. AD scored only 9 points on 3 of 9 shots in this game. Every player will have a break in the NBA and he won’t score at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in every game. However, no matter who he faces, Davis needs to be able to average at least 15 shots per game and show his strength in the paint.
This will take a huge amount of pressure off James to do it all, as Davis will give the Lakers a chance to build a lead without LeBron having to constantly attack and score.
Lakers plan moving forward
Whether LeBron James ends up playing less minutes depends on two things. The first involves Darvin Ham and his staff’s decisions on the rotation given all the injuries the Lakers are dealing with.
Gabe Vincent, Jared Vanderbilt and now Cam Reddish are all dealing with injuries, which has taken away a large portion of potential secondary contributions. Outside of Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers don’t really have any other reliable options on the wing, which is one of the reasons why LeBron has looked like he has a lot of work in recent games.
Another factor that determines James’ total playing time is LeBron himself.
No great player wants to limit his abilities, and for James, he’s very proud of what he’s been able to do at 38 years old. Deep down in the back of his mind, the idea of getting extra rest was clearly there, but he went into every game with the same mentality: to win by any means necessary.
If that means going out there and playing extra minutes to keep the ball in his hands to secure a win, then LeBron will do that.
“Just trying to push the envelope and see how far I can take this thing,” James said recently, via the Los Angeles Times . “I’m fighting Father Time, so I’m trying to change the narrative. I started it last year to see if I can stick with it.”
Based on what we’ve seen from James so far this season, it seems like Time will have to wait a few more years to land the Lakers legend. Even though LeBron is entering his 21st season, he continues to take his performance to the next level, which is why he isn’t worried about extra playing time early in the season.
Going forward, the Lakers will start to pay more attention to their stars’ playing time, especially as their secondary talent returns from injuries. Despite the uncertainty surrounding teams and players across the NBA, one thing we can 100% trust is that LeBron will do whatever it takes to win, no matter how long he’s on the court.