you guys know I am not a LeBron fan so being a Lakers fan and seeing them with the leagues best record causes some internal conflict with me
But I have to give the guy credit when it comes to Load Management. Problem is he will be out of gas or have very little reserve when the playoffs begin whilst Kawhi will awaken from his Load Management and have plenty of reserve
LeBron James isn’t resting, his Lakers aren’t losing
1) LeBron James isn’t resting, and his Lakers aren’t losing. A lot of teams may have looked at the Lakers’ situation heading into Sunday night in Atlanta as the perfect chance to rest their star player: He had a sore elbow after a fall against Miami a couple of nights earlier, the Lakers are in the middle of 8-of-9 on the road (with tougher tests against Indiana and Milwaukee ahead), Los Angeles was facing a six-win team in Atlanta that is beatable without him, and the Lakers had a four-game lead in the West over the second-seed Clippers.
LeBron James played anyway.
It’s good for the Lakers he did because they needed his MVP-level performance — 32 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists — to get the victory on a night the Lakers were sloppy and just plain off: 5-of-31 shooting from three, and they turned the ball over on 20.8 percent of their possessions, more than one-in-five trips down the court. Los Angeles still won 101-96 in part because LeBron was making plays.
After the game, LeBron again scoffed at the idea of “load management” games. From his postgame interview broadcast on Spectrum Sportsnet:
“Y’all want me to sit out? … But why wouldn’t I play if I’m healthy? It doesn’t make any sense to me, personally. I mean, I don’t know how many games I got left in my career. I don’t know how many kids that may show up to a game that are there to come see me play — and if I sit out, then what? That’s my obligation. My obligation is to play for my teammates and if I’m healthy, then I’m going to play. If coach sits me out, then I’m not healthy and it’s just simple.”
The eye test says LeBron does not need a rest — he is playing at levels this early in the season we haven’t seen since his Miami days. He’s averaging 26.1 points, 10.7 assists (a career-high), 7.3 rebounds, is shooting 36.5 percent from three, and most importantly coach Frank Vogel is keeping him at around 34 minutes a night (their stated goal for the season).
Plus LeBron is a competitor, he wants to be out there. He’s talked about this before. He’s not going to sit if healthy, at least until the Lakers have essentially locked up whatever playoff seed they ultimately end up with.
However, to quote Mark Cuban, “the dumb thing would be to ignore the science… We’re not going, ‘OK, let’s just mess with the league and our meal ticket to fans to do something just because it might be interesting.’”
The NBA is a recovery league. That’s the coach’s cliche (I first heard it from Brett Brown, but others say it) and it’s true. The wear-and-tear on bodies — LeBron has already run 62.5 miles on hardwood floors during NBA games this season — combined with the thrown-off sleep schedules makes players increasingly susceptible to injuries as the season grinds on. Teams use biometric trackers on players — constantly checking their speed, explosiveness and more — looking for the signs of exhaustion to rest players before they get injured. That’s the goal of load management, to keep guys on the court, healthy and fresh, especially for the postseason.
No player in the league is better conditioned, or as concerned with rest and recovery, as LeBron. He gets it. But none of the league’s 450 players are immune to the marathon grind of an NBA season, especially any players turning 35 at the end of the month. The Lakers and LeBron can call it an injury or whatever they want, but making sure LeBron is right before something goes wrong (like it did last Christmas day) is not a bad thing. It’s the smart thing. It’s a call the Lakers and LeBron need to make together, but with their eyes wide open.
For now, LeBron keeps on playing, and the Lakers keep on winning.
Fortunately building code is pretty strict, no total collapses like we see in other parts of the world where earthquakes are far less common and structures aren't required to have steel reinforcement.
