Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton confirmed to reporters that superstar small forward LeBron James will play reduced minutes for the rest of the season.

Walton says the team hasn't made a decision whether to sit James for at least one game of back-to-back sets. The Lakers, who have 17 games left in the season, have three back-to-backs remaining on their schedule:

Walton and the Lakers are being realistic.

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Los Angeles isn't going to make the playoffs this season despite being mathematically in the race. LeBron James is 34 years old and has played in eight straight NBA Finals. It's the right move to cut LeBron's minutes down moving forward since the team has nothing to play for anymore.

In his first season with the Lakers, James is averaging 27.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game. The four-time MVP and three-time Finals MVP is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from beyond the arc and 66.2 percent from the free-throw line.

LeBron suffered the worst injury of his career on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors when he hurt his groin. The Lakers played terribly in James' absence, and it was during that stretch when they began their slide out of playoff contention.

This is going to be the first summer in a long time that James won't be playing basketball. Rest could be the best thing for The King.