With the Los Angeles Lakers (50-29) all but locked into the four-five seeding bracket, they technically have little to gain by going full throttle in their final three regular-season games. As such, the Lakers may benefit from resting the 41-year-old LeBron James, keeping him fresh for a playoff run.
ESPN’s “Hoop Collective” podcast has made the case for the Lakers to sit out James on Thursday against the Warriors, Friday against the Phoenix Suns and Sunday versus the Utah Jazz — even if it means losing the fourth seed to the Houston Rockets (50-29).
“They’re gonna try to keep homecourt — they have the tiebreaker edge on Houston — but they also gotta prioritize LeBron’s health,” Windhorst said.
“He’s played a lot of minutes in the last week.”
Should Lakers Shut Down LeBron?
As Windhorst noted, the Lakers own the tiebreaker against the Rockets and would finish with a higher seed if the teams finished with identical records. However, with Austin Reaves (grade 2 oblique strain) and Luka Doncic (grade 2 hamstring strain) expected to miss the first round of the playoffs, the Lakers need James to step up and keep them afloat until their backcourt stars return.
“If it was me, I’d put LeBron in bubble wrap until the end of the week,” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps said on Wednesday, agreeing with Windhorst’s suggestion.
“I wouldn’t play him again and give him as much time as possible to be ready for a first-round playoff series against Houston.
“… Let’s just assume Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves aren’t available, the plan of attack is simple: give the ball to LeBron and spread the floor with shooting.”
Bontemps believes that if James can get good production from the Lakers’ shooters, they may even have a chance to upset the Rockets without Reaves and Doncic.
Lakers Battle Injuries
Amid the untimely injuries to Doncic and Reaves, Lakers head coach JJ Redick has maintained a positive mindset. After Tuesday’s 123-87 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, he said the Lakers had no option but to solider on.
“You obviously have to tackle the situation in front of you,” Redick said of the Lakers injury woes, via Lakers Nation.
“We have a unique situation in front of us and we gotta prepare our team, our group that we have available, to play in a playoff series. That’s how we approach the next four games, how we approach next week leading into Game 1.
“Like I said, it’s finding who’s gonna be able to play in the playoffs for us. That all goes into it. The seeding part probably went out the window after the OKC game.”
James, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, could possibly be entering his final playoff run as a Laker. Per multiple insiders, the NBA’s all-time scoring leader remains undecided about returning to the franchise for a ninth season.
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