Lakers notes: LeBron, Lineup, Christie, Davis, Reaves

Lakers forward LeBron Jameswho stated at the start of the 2024/25 season that he hoped to play all 82 games, had to be persuaded to sit out competitions last Sunday and Friday to address quad and foot injuries, he said in his post-match media session d. Sunday after returning to action and helping Los Angeles defeat Memphis.

“If it was up to me, I probably would have played,” James said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “It would have been hard to stay away from it. I have a team and I have to listen to them too. They are looking out for my best interest.”

Due to the unusual nature of the NBA’s schedule during the knockout round of the regular season tournament, James was able to get nine days off while missing only two games. He told reporters on Sunday that it made sense to take advantage of the unique opportunity to rest in the season in hopes of coming back stronger than before.

“I mean, it’s very rare, to be honest, if you can get a break in the schedule like that,” James said according Jovan Buha from The Athletic. “So it was a very easy decision for myself and for the team and for my coach to be able to use those days for everything. So it was great. … I had the opportunity to take more days and get my mind, body and everything where I wanted it for tonight, and I succeeded.”

As Buha relays, the nine-day layoff allowed a minor quad injury James suffered on Dec. 6 to heal, though the four-time MVP expects to continue to deal with his sore left foot going forward.

“It’s not behind me,” James said about his foot problem. “It’s an everyday thing. 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 the regulation of (Anthony Davis), it is 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 lot of other elements as well.”

Here’s more on LeBron and the Lakers:

• Talking to reporters, including Boohead coach JJ Redick said Sunday that he will consider different ways to manage James’ in-game workload to keep him healthy and reduce the need for him to sit out entire contests. “Maybe it’s not necessarily less minutes, but shorter runs so he doesn’t get gassed, and then quicker segments on the bench and then he’s back again,” Redick said. “You know what I mean? So there’s different ways to do it than just saying we’re going to rest you and you’re going to be out.”
• With James, Davis and Austin Reaves all available for the first time since Nov. 29, Redick tried out a new starting lineup on Sunday, with that trio joining Max Christie and Rui Hachimura. The group played 20 minutes together and outscored Memphis by three points during its time on the field. After the game, Redick explained that it wasn’t an easy decision to start Christie over Gabe Vincentbut that he likes the way Christie’s size and athleticism fit into the starting five and sees it as a good opportunity for the 21-year-old’s development (Twitter link via Buha).
• Christie didn’t do much offensively Sunday with seven points on 1-of-3 shooting in 29 minutes, but he played a key role in keeping the Grizzlies star Yes Morant to 6-of-21 shooting with seven turnovers, notes McMenamin. “My main task tonight was Ja Morant, so my mind was just focused on trying to make it as hard as I could for him,” Christie said. “And I thought I did a decent job of that tonight.”
• The Lakers survived a pair of injury scares Sunday, which Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times writes. Davis went to the locker room after injuring his left shoulder in the third quarter, while Reaves took one Zach Edey elbow to the face that drew blood in the fourth quarter. However, Davis was able to return and Reaves remained in the game, with both players helping the club secure the win.