LeBron James isn’t getting any younger, so how can JJ Redick and the Lakers find him rest during games without limiting his impact?
LeBron James' ambitious goal of playing all 82 games was thoroughly dead and gone when he returned to the court on Sunday after eight days off, but his performance demonstrated he still could electrify a team.
He ended the night with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and the Lakers won 116-110. It was a highlight during an up-and-down season, but after the game, LeBron made it clear that his foot injury will be an ongoing issue.
With the Lakers still relying heavily on the oldest player in the NBA, JJ Redick discussed other ways to maximize his rest without completely removing him from the lineup.
“It requires communication and feedback from both parties,” Redick said. “Maybe it’s not sitting out a game, maybe it’s not necessarily, like I told him the night before the game, not necessarily less minutes but sort of shorter runs so that he’s not getting gassed and then quicker segments on the bench and then he’s back in. There’s different ways to do it than just to say, ‘We’re going to rest you and you’re going to sit out a game.’”
Under Darvin Ham, the Lakers tried to put LeBron on a minute restriction and he hated it, as seen on the Netflix show “Starting Five.” That plan lasted one game as LeBron immediately played over 30 minutes in the second game of the season and didn’t look back.
Finding ways to get LeBron to rest within games without being frustrated by any limitations will be tricky.
Currently, LeBron starts each game and takes his first break around the 6:30 mark, so having him head to the bench earlier could be a way to stagger his first-quarter minutes.
There are similar stretches in the second and third quarters that can be trimmed, so he’s fresh and available for most of the fourth. The problem is, this Lakers team at 14-12 isn’t exactly dominating their opponents.
If LeBron sits too long, it might not matter if he’s well rested if the team is trailing by double figures with 12 minutes left to play.
Redick will have to balance his strong need and desire to play LeBron as often as possible with his attempt to reign him in a bit so that he can focus on the long-term objective without dropping games.
This will be challenging, but in the coming matchups, let’s see if Redick can change LeBron’s usage to maximize efficiency and rest while winning games.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
