What LeBron James is doing at 38 years old is simply remarkable. The Los Angeles Lakers star leads the team in scoring at 25.7 points per game, he currently ranks 13th in the league in scoring, and LeBron has led the Lakers to a 9-6 record through their first 15 games. This is a major step up from their 5-10 start at this point last season.
Despite all of the injury concerns to the Lakers secondary talents, James has been able to put his team on his back through the early portion of the schedule, including a perfect 4-0 record in West Group A of the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Things are going great in Los Angeles right now and it finally seems like this organization is back on the path to competing for a championship. However, one major concern still looms and it pertains to James, whose production cannot be replicated by anyone else on the Lakers' roster.
LeBron is a one-of-a-kind talent, we all know this. The Lakers have struggled through the years when he was out due to injuries, which is why head coach Darvin Ham made it a point of emphasis at the start of the season that James' minutes would be monitored closely in order to make sure he stays fresh the entire season.
Since playing just 29 minutes in the Lakers' season-opening loss against the Denver Nuggets, LeBron has played at least 35 minutes in nine total games.
So much for monitoring his minutes, right?
James is averaging 33.6 minutes per game this season, drawing a cause for concern in Los Angeles because of how injury-prone the superstar has been through the years. Whether they learn so the hard way or from experiences like Tuesday night's victory over the Utah Jazz, the Lakers are going to understand later in the year why monitoring James' minutes right now is so meaningful.
Monitoring LeBron James' minutes
LeBron James takes care of his body better than anyone else in the NBA, hence why he is able to still play like he is with age 40 quickly creeping up. At the same time, it's simply a fact that James cannot consistently play the same minutes as some of the younger stars of the league. This is no disrespect to James and his skill level, but he's older and we all need to come to terms with this.
As a result, the minutes James plays need to be monitored so that way he can, and will, be healthy for the end of the season. Although Darvin Ham said this would be the case after LeBron played in just 29 minutes to begin the season, the 19-time All-Star has only played below 30 minutes in four total games so far this year.
One of these games was obviously the very first game of the season against the Nuggets, the second time was a 34-point loss on the road against the Houston Rockets, and the third time was a 27-point victory for the Lakers over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Most recently, the Lakers defeated the Utah Jazz 131-99 on Tuesday night. James played in just 24 minutes and was able to watch the final 17 minutes of this game from the bench, joking around with Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt as his team coasted to a victory.
“I think it's great to be able to see the young guys go out and close a game out. I love that,” James said in his postgame remarks. “Being able to sit on the bench and watch Max Christie go out and play the way he played, AR [Austin Reaves] play the way he plays, C-Wood [Christian Wood] go into a rhythm in the fourth quarter, Rui [Hachimura] continues to get better and better, and Jax [Jaxson Hayes]… I just love seeing the the young guys go out there and peform at a high level, even when we got a big lead. That's a benefit for sure.”
While he was initially frustrated to leave the game in the third quarter, James understands the role extra rest can play not just for his individual journey, but that of the Lakers this season. Whether or not the Lakers fully understand the benefits of getting James the extra rest he needs is yet to be seen, especially since they have not necessarily been monitoring his minutes.
Perhaps LeBron's minutes have not been cut down like they were in Los Angeles' recent blowout victories simply because they have played in a lot of tight games. Many of the Lakers' games this season have been one, two, sometimes three possession games in which the team has needed James on the court. The fact that they have been dealing with so many injuries also doesn't bode well for getting the veteran the extra rest he needs.
Whether it is resting him for the second night of back-to-backs or pulling him out of 20-point games, the Lakers should start to be more cognizant of how long LeBron is actually on the floor. By getting him the rest he requires, James will be ready to make another championship push with the Lakers. If Los Angeles continues to run him down early on in the season, it is inevitable that wear and tear will catch up to LeBron 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 large part of LeBron James getting the extra rest he needs falls on the shoulders of Anthony Davis. As the Lakers succeed on the court and are able to extend their lead into double digits, Darvin Ham is able to begin lifting his foot off the gas pedal, making more frequent substitutions to get his star players extra rest.
This is what has happened in the Lakers' blowout victories and their win over the Jazz was a perfect example of this. While James left with about five minutes to go in the third quarter, Davis remained in the game for an extra three minutes. This may not seem like that much extra time, but this allowed Los Angeles to maintain their lead and play at a high level without their best player on the floor.
Through the years, there has been a lot of talk surrounding Davis and him needing to finally step forward and take the mantle from James. Given his age and the fact that he has not always been around, it does not seem like LeBron can do what he did for the Cleveland Cavaliers a few years back in terms of single-handedly carrying his team to the NBA Finals.
Is it possible? Sure, it's LeBron James we are talking about here, anything is possible. The reality of the situation, though, is that Davis needs to be the one to take over games and put the Lakers on his back. So far this season, we have seen him do so a handful of times, as Davis has recorded at least 26 points and 10 rebounds in back-to-back games.
The problem with Davis is that he also has a handful of “dud” games in which he gives the Lakers virtually nothing offensively. The Lakers recently lost by 15 points to the Sacramento Kings and in this game, AD had just nine points on 3-of-9 shooting. Every player has off-nights in the NBA and he is not going to record at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in every single game. However, Davis needs to be able to shoot at least 15 shots a game and assert himself in the paint no matter who he is facing.
This would take a lot of pressure off of James to do everything because Davis would give the Lakers an opportunity to build leads without LeBron constantly initiating and scoring every single play.
Lakers' plan moving forward
Whether or not LeBron James winds up seeing his minutes decrease depends on two things. The first deals with Darvin Ham and his staff's decisions on what the rotations will look like given all the injuries the Lakers are dealing with.
Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, and now Cam Reddish are dealing with injuries, which takes away a significant chunk of potential secondary contributions. Outside of Taurean Prince and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers really don't have any other reliable options out on the wing, hence one of the reasons why it appears as if LeBron has seen a heavy workload in recent games.
The other factor that will determine James' overall minutes is LeBron himself.
No great player ever wants to limit their abilities and for James, he takes a lot of pride in what he's able to do at 38 years old. In the back of his mind, the idea of getting extra rest obviously exists, but he enters every game with the same mindset: win by any means necessary.
If this means going out there and playing extra minutes to keep the ball in his hands to ensure victory, LeBron is going to do it.
“Just trying to push the limit, see how far I can take this thing,” James said recently, via the LA Times. “Me versus Father Time, so I’m trying to change the narrative. Started off last year, and see if I can keep it going.”
Based on what we have seen from James so far this season, it seems like Father Time is going to have to wait around a few more years before he can get his hands on the Lakers' legend. LeBron continues to elevate his play to new levels despite being in his 21st season, which is why he's not concerned about the extra minutes early on in the season.
Moving forward, the Lakers are going to begin paying more attention to their star's minutes, especially as their secondary talent return from injuries. With all the uncertainty that surrounds teams and players across the NBA, the one thing we can 100 percent count on is LeBron doing everything he can to win games, no matter how long he is on the court.
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