With five losses in six games at an inopportune time, the Los Angeles Lakers are in serious trouble when it comes to the playoff picture in the Western Conference. It isn’t impossible to imagine LeBron James leading his team back into the race but, as of March 5, projection systems like FiveThirtyEight see a Lakers run to the NBA’s “second season” as wildly unlikely and frustration is overflowing.
As a result, many have speculated that the organization could lean in the other direction, pushing James to the bench in pursuit of both rest for his aging body and the potential for improved NBA Draft positioning. At this point, however, the team’s best player isn’t ready to entertain that option.
“That would take a lot of convincing from Luke [Walton] on up,” James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “Unless I’m hurt, I’m not sitting games.”
When asked whether anyone in the organization has spoken with him about resting, James went on to say “that conversation hasn’t occurred, but I’m sure it can happen soon.” Beyond that, he did concede that something could change with his workload.
“You kind of look at the rest of the games, and look at the percentages of what’s going on there in the future, and see what makes more sense for not only me but the team itself as well,” James told ESPN.
For Los Angeles to even entertain any sort of run to the postseason, the Lakers would need an unexpectedly impressive showing against the Nuggets (Wednesday) and Celtics (Saturday) this week. The team is also dealing with injuries to Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma at the moment. Because of James’ past heroics, it would seem odd in some respect to see him shut things down early but, on the flip side, two more losses (or even a split, if viewing things through a lens of pessimism) could make the possibility greater of a mutual decision to pare back James’ minutes or rest him entirely.
This is uncharted territory in many respects and very few saw the possibility that the Lakers could be all but eliminated from playoff contention by mid-March. In the same breath, that is now on the table and, even if James isn’t quite ready to contemplate the possibility in public, his tune could change with haste.
