With the Lakers on the front end of a back-to-back on Sunday, LeBron James will only factor into, at most, one of the two contests. After being listed as questionable on Saturday, LeBron was ruled out for LA’s game against the Pelicans with left foot injury management.
Marcus Smart, who missed the game against the Mavericks with back spasms, remains out for Sunday’s game as well.
This is the first back-to-back since LeBron’s return and paints a picture of the Lakers’ plans with him moving forward this season. The benefit of having Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves playing at the levels they are this season is that the team can be more conservative with LeBron.
The Lakers’ record also allows some flexibility. Sitting as the No. 2 seed, on a six-game winning streak and 3.5 games above the play-in means the team doesn’t have to push for wins at all costs and can absorb some rest and load management.
In Friday’s game without Smart, Maxi Kleber saw some minutes in the first half but only played one stint. Instead of adding another player to the rotation in the second half, head coach JJ Redick extended minutes for the rest of his rotation players.
On Sunday, expect at least one player to step in and absorb minutes. Bronny James is with the South Bay Lakers, meaning Dalton Knecht would be the likely option if the Lakers want another guard in the rotation. In LeBron’s spot, they could try Kleber again, give Jarred Vanderbilt some run for the first time since LeBron’s debut or turn to the rookie Adou Thiero to give him rotation minutes.