Lakers' LeBron James Doesn’t Believe Limiting Workload Shields Him From Injury: 'Feel Worse When I Play Low Minutes'
NBA star LeBron James said he's not buying the idea that monitoring his minutes would have any effect on his health as the Los Angeles Lakers are about to begin their new season.
Ahead of the Lakers' regular-season opener against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, LeBron James said Monday that he was not thinking about injuries when he was playing, ESPN reported.
LeBron James Rejects Idea of Load Management to Avoid Injury
"The King" emphasized that he felt worse when he played low minutes. In his years in the league, the 19-year veteran is ranked sixth on the all-time minutes played list.
The King flatly rejected the notion that limiting his playing time would limit injuries and be a shield for his body from potential harm.
Despite the fact that LeBron James logged his career-low 33.4 minutes per game last NBA season, he still suffered a severe high ankle sprain that sidelined him in the middle of the regular season and prompted him to miss 26 games.
The injury not only denied the LA Lakers a better position at the postseason but also derailed The King's potential MVP campaign.
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LeBron James' Slow Recovery
The 36-year-old NBA star played worryingly about his right ankle in all six games of the Lakers' first-round loss to the Phoenix Suns.
Despite being still in recovery, he averaged 23.3 points on 47.4 percent shooting, 8.0 assists, and 7.2 rebounds. However, the numbers were not his production, and he has performed below his usual postseason standard.
LeBron James, who will be turning 37 in December, said his injury dragged on well into the offseason. He noted that it took a while for his right ankle to fully recover.
James also shared that he did not do much basketball stuff for almost two months of the summer which he considered very rare. He also admitted that his ankle did not respond like it used to, but he said that the best thing about the summertime was he had time to get ready.
The King also said he was always training, but not on the basketball court much. He noted that he was always doing "other stuff training, pushing," and checking if he could do other stuff with his ankle.
James added that he continued the routine until he got to a point where he no longer felt any sharp pains anymore. He also noticed that his flexibility was back to where it was before, and that's when he knew that he could get back on the floor.
LA Lakers coach Frank Vogel said he plans to abide by a scripted rotation that would keep LeBron James on the court. He noted that James, on his 19th season, would be on the court in the range of 34 to 36 minutes per game.
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Written by: Jess Smith
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