LeBron James says foot injury ‘an everyday thing’ after return to Lakers | News, results, highlights, stats and rumours

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is not fully healthy despite returning to the court in Sunday’s 116-110 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

James missed the Lakers’ previous two games due to lingering foot soreness. After Sunday’s competition, he told reporters the problem is “not behind me” and is something he will have to continue to manage.

“It’s an everyday thing,” he said. “It’s been lingering for the last couple of years, but I was able to do a lot of good things to not only calm it down, but I took a knee in the quad game in the Atlanta game at the end of regulation of ​​(Anthony Davis) it’s now back to 100 percent Probably three days ago it was still pretty sore but I’m able to get it back to 100 (percent) so that was great so I was able to hit a. many other elements too.”

James had seen his offensive production fluctuate in the two weeks prior to his absence, including a four-game stretch in which he went 0-for-19 on three-point attempts.

Redick said Wednesday that James had “asked for a sub a couple of times because he’s gassed” through the first 23 games of the season.

“For us, we have to be aware as we play more and more games, just the cumulative effect of playing a lot of minutes and Sunday, getting beat up with the foot, it felt like a good opportunity for him to get some rest ” Redick said Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

James, who turns 40 later this month, told reporters after a Dec. 2 loss to the Wolves that he had “discussed” a potential rest schedule with the Lakers. His weeklong layoff could be part of the franchise’s plan to ensure he’s healthy and available for a hopeful postseason berth this spring.

For Redick, monitoring James’ minutes will be a constant challenge. While he is still Los Angeles’ best player, he simply cannot handle the kind of workload that everyone has come to expect from him at this stage of his career.