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LeBron James has only been back for a short stretch, but his presence has already elevated the Lakers from an explosive offense to a fully balanced, transition-dominant machine.
Even while ceding control of the half-court offense to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, James has sharpened their pace, stabilized their spacing, and anchored the back line defensively with the same veteran instincts that have defined his 23 seasons.
But at 40-years-old and still the league’s oldest active player, the Lakers are treating James’ workload with extra caution, especially when it comes to back-to-backs.
The team held him out against the Pelicans for foot injury management, a move head coach JJ Redick explained with full transparency.
“It is an injury he’s had in the past, it’s something that we’ve had to manage in the past,” Redick said. “Given the back-to-back and the fact that he’s basically just coming off his training camp, this has been his training camp the last ten days or so, so just being cautious.”
Despite the precaution, both Redick and James have a long-term plan in place, and it includes playing on consecutive nights sooner rather than later.
Redick emphasized that the Lakers are already working toward that goal.
“We’re gonna build him up hopefully to be able to play in back-to-backs, that’s the goal,” Redick said. “But you are correct, every back-to-back is a case by case basis. That’s just the reality of the NBA right now. But we want him to be able to play in back-to-backs and so does he, so we’re gonna work towards that.”
Given the league-wide spike in star injuries, Los Angeles has every reason to lean conservative. James has looked sharp since returning, but re-injury risk rises with fatigue, and the Lakers’ strong start behind Doncic and Reaves allows them to take their time.
READ MORE: LeBron James Opens Up on Watching Bronny’s Rapid NBA Growth
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