It’s Year No. 21 for LeBron James, so he’s just fine with the so-called minutes restriction being imposed by the Lakers.
Of course, “imposed” is a strong word, given that James said he is on board with playing about 30 minutes or less. At least, for the first part of the season.
He logged 29 in the season-opening loss to the Nuggets.
“Listen, I mean, I always want to be on the floor. Especially when you got an opportunity to win a game or you feel like you can make an impact,” James told reporters. “But this is the system in place and I’m going to follow it.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, James still led the Lakers in scoring with 21 points on an efficient 10-of-16 shooting. He also collected eight rebounds.
James turns 39 years old in December and is already the NBA’s oldest player. But your body at 39 is a lot different than 29, especially when trying to compete at this level. So it makes sense for James and the Lakers to try to preserve things for as long as they can.
“It’s easy with him to get caught up in the emotion of the game and you tend to forget you want to play these long stretches, but in order for him to be as effective as possible, we have to be mindful of the minute output and how long his stretches are,” coach Darvin Ham said.
- Center/forward Christian Wood has a reputation for wearing out his welcome quickly, but the Lakers believe that won’t be the case in LA, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic. “With head coach Darvin Ham, James and (Anthony Davis) setting the tone and culture, the Lakers are optimistic that Wood will buy into the team in a way he’s never fully bought into his previous stops. They think they have the personnel on both ends to maximize his skills on the court.”
- As has been well-documented, Davis scored 17 points in the first half of the season opener vs. Denver … and zero in the second. “They started double-teaming. They were trying to crowd the paint. I missed some easy little layups around the rim and little jumpers,” Davis explained. “Just trying to make the right play, kick it out to our guys. If I’m doubled, kick it out. (Rui Hachimura) had an open 3, (Gabe Vincent) had open 3s. They just didn’t fall. But I got to shoot it more.”
- Suns star guard Devin Booker (foot) and Bradley Beal (back) will both miss the Suns’ visit to the Lakers on Thursday.
Looking for the latest NBA Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow Hoops Wire on TWITTER and FACEBOOK for breaking NBA News and Rumors for all 30 teams!
