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The Los Angeles Lakers were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Friday night as a result of their 111-106 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, and with the Lakers going nowhere the rest of the season, you would imagine that team would want to limit LeBron James' minutes even more.
Resting James has already been a thing for Los Angeles in recent weeks, so managing his minutes would be nothing new, but after a scary slip by James during the defeat to the Nets, you have to wonder if the Lakers will take it up a notch over the final few weeks.
Of course, James himself wants to get out on the floor:
LeBron James on resting after #Lakers eliminated – "We'll probably have a conversation with the coaching staff, my trainer, & go from there. I love to hoop. Shit, I'm gonna have 5 months to not be able to play the game so hopefully I can be in as many games as possible."
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 23, 2019
However, Lakers head coach Luke Walton said he will be “cautious” with James' playing time, noting that the team will be more cautious with minutes up and down the roster in general now that they don't have the postseason to play for, per Ben Golliver of The Washington Post.
The final decision will probably come from Magic Johnson, as it seems hard to imagine Johnson (and James) letting a seemingly lame-duck coach like Walton dictate his minutes during the home stretch.
On the season, James—who missed over a month with a groin injury between late December and late January—is averaging 27.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 8.1 assists and 1.3 steals over 35.3 minutes per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor, 33.4 percent from three-point range and 66.4 percent from the free-throw line.
