LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers are about to hit a tough part of their schedule in which they are playing almost every other day and have two sets of back-to-backs through the end of the month. Last month amid the NBA Cup, the schedule was a little more spaced out. But January is going to hit them fast. Taking health into consideration, especially when it comes to LeBron James, Lakers head coach JJ Redick revealed that the team would no longer be holding shootaround on game days.
Speaking to reporters following Lakers practice on Sunday, JJ Redick said LeBron James’ health and availability was a key factor in deciding to cancel shootaround.
“We made the decision 12-13 days ago that we weren’t gonna do shootaround in the mornings anymore. Part of that thought process was we have a 41-year old who shouldn’t be on his feet twice a day,” Redick said. “Let’s only rev his engine once. The other part of it was just reading personnel, like what are we really getting out of shootaround based on who’s on our team.”
Since James made his season debut back in November following a nerve injury, he has not played in any back-to-backs. He has missed a total of 17 games so far, putting him at risk of being disqualified for the postseason honors due to the NBA’s 65-game rule. With two sets of back-to-backs this month, it’s increasingly likely James’ streak of 21 consecutive seasons of making an All-NBA team comes to an end.
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James has appeared in 19 games so far this year, at a little over 33 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 21.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 51 percent shooting from the field, 32 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 70.9 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
The first half of February is also a very compressed schedule leading up to the All-Star Break. With Austin Reaves still out due to a calf injury, and no new update on his potential return, it’s just something the Lakers are going to have to manage.
“This is, generally speaking, our toughest month just from a game standpoint,” Redick said. “We got front-loaded to start the season, and then we kind of paced everything out. Now we’re front-loaded again this month. But it’s kind of just for us to kind of deal with it. I think it’s just reading the team.”
The Lakers begin the first night of back-to-back on Monday on the road against the Sacramento Kings, then return home the following day to face off against the Atlanta Hawks.