LeBron James is already 36 years old and coming off an injury-riddled season, so it's no surprise why some fans and experts think the Los Angeles Lakers should limit his workload and rest him from time to time to keep him healthy when the playoffs come.
However, James is not a big fan of the idea. In fact, he doesn't like it at all since he's not a big believer that load management will help him physically and mentally.
“No,” James firmly said on potentially playing fewer minutes and taking some nights off, per SB Nation. “For one, I don’t play the game thinking about injuries. And also, I feel worse when I play low minutes.”
It's easy to understand where LeBron James is coming from. After all, he's someone who has never played less than 34 minutes per game in his entire 18-year NBA career so far. Moreover, with the way he has taken care of his body over the years–even spending millions every year–he isn't really wired to rest and sit out games.
However, the concerns about his health and ideas to manage his workload are warranted. He did mention that his ankle injury from last season–one that cost him 26 of the final 30 games of 2020-21–lingered even during the offseason.
Simply put, father time is already catching up to LeBron. Even though the Lakers superstar obviously still has a lot left in his tank, the smart thing to do might just be lowering his workload at the start of the season and ramping it up as the playoffs near.
Everyone saw what happened to the Lakers when they are not well-rested and healthy during the 2021 playoffs, and if the Purple and Gold want to avoid such horrible ending, they just need to avoid doing the same mistakes.
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