Luke Walton Is The Latest Coach To Learn That Finding Rest For LeBron Is Always A Problem


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In his age-33 season, LeBron James appeared in all 82 regular season games for the Cleveland Cavaliers and, in the process, led the NBA in minutes. That is anything but typical of a player in the 15th season of his Hall of Fame career but, given the dire nature of Cleveland’s situation whenever James left the floor, there was also something admirable about the game’s best player taking on an obscene workload while leading his team back to the NBA Finals.

Long-term, though, it doesn’t seem wise to lean on James for that kind of playing time as he arrives in Los Angeles, even if the new face of the Lakers is arguably the most indestructible physical specimen in league history. With that in mind, the subject was recently broached as to how often James would be playing in his first season with the Lakers and head coach Luke Walton had a potentially insightful response when asked if a discussion had already taken place.

“We’ve talked about the idea of it and I’ll be in constant communication with him all year long,” Walton said while appearing on 710 ESPN in Los Angeles (h/t Harrison Feigen of Silver Screen and Roll). “If it’s a night off, if it’s a back-to-back, whatever it is. If it’s practice, preferably if he’s going to take something off, take a practice off to stay fresh. But we’ve got him here for four years, and we want to be competing every single year that he’s here. If we do play him less minutes or he gets a night off, that’s a great opportunity for other players, some of the young guys so it’ll be an ongoing thing, a feel out thing as the season is going as far as minutes or whether he’s going to take this game off or that game off.”

Obviously, there is nothing definitive in what Walton is saying for public consumption at this point but it does speak to the interesting nature of the situation.

On one hand, James’ arrival marks a complete shift for the Lakers and, wherever he goes, title contention is expected to follow. That would potentially lead to James, once again, taking on a significant burden to get there. At the very lest, he might need to play a ton just to ensure a playoff spot for Los Angeles in an obscenely competitive Western Conference.

On the flip side, the Lakers don’t have the look of a legitimate title contender in year one of the LeBron era, with a hodgepodge of weird veteran acquisitions paired with young players without firmly defined roles. As a result, it might be wise to ease the burden for James in some respects, as Walton notes that practice might be the first thing to go, with the possibility of a game off, even on an infrequent basis.

From an outsider’s perspective, it makes all the sense in the world to limit James’ exposure, even if only slightly. The decision made by the Cavaliers to deploy James for more than 3,000 regular season minutes a season ago seems borderline insane in retrospect, especially given Cleveland’s ability to navigate the postseason without the benefit of homecourt advantage. Beyond that, the Lakers will almost certainly experience some growing pains along the way, leaving the potential of a top seed in the Western Conference Playoffs as a secondary thought when compared to setting up for a playoff push in April.

That leaves Walton in a strange spot, however, as James may want to play the lion’s share (or all) of the team’s games, as his out-of-this-world durability has yet to falter. In addition, Walton may not wield the power necessarily to “force” James to the bench and discussions between the two (and the front office) will be crucial in the early going.

In the end, though, the Lakers don’t fit the profile of a team that is going to unseat the Warriors (or even the Rockets) in the first season with James on board and that should give everyone the opportunity to take a step back. James doesn’t need to play 82 games and he certainly doesn’t need to lead the NBA in minutes again. With that said, finding the sweet spot when it comes to his deployment will be a challenge, and one that much of the league will be closely monitoring throughout the campaign.

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