After a couple of days off, the purple and gold squad finally congregated back together this Wednesday for the first time since they beat the Trail Blazers on Sunday. There were only two differences: LeBron James was missing from the group, and Austin Reaves was back in training.
This small schedule break provided some good news in the Lakers camp, with Los Angeles only playing two games in a 10-day stretch from December 9-18. Their starting-shooting guard finally recovered from his left pelvic injury after missing out on five-consecutive games. This Wednesday he was able to join his teammates for most of the drills.
“I wouldn’t call Austin a full participant,” JJ Redick explained. “There was one thing that he sat out that we suggested … that was probably not good for him, just due to the nature of the drill. It was particularly a physical drill and just want to be mindful of his pain tolerance. But he was full participant of all the 5-on-5, live stuff and all the breakdown drills.”
Austin Reaves returned to practice on Wednesday https://t.co/hSQhJrHQGM pic.twitter.com/nazEV5JLXo
— LeBron Wire (@LeBron_Wire) December 12, 2024
As for James, his coach revealed he asked for some time out. “LeBron is not with the team right now,” the rookie tactician said once practice came to an end. “He’s out for personal reasons, excused absence.” The 39-year-old also missed out on the game against Portland due to soreness in his left foot.
That game was the first one that the veteran had missed all season, and now the league’s schedule provided a break for most teams, with Los Angeles only playing two games in a 10-day stretch from December 9-18.
“Heck, if somebody wants to go spend a couple of nights in Santa Barbara and relax, that’s fine too,” Redick said after beating the Blazers at the end of last week. “It’s a quarter way through the season.”
JJ kept it simple about James’ situation, simply stating that he’s currently “taking some time” for himself, and remained unclear if the player would be available for their next matchup against the Timberwolves in Minnesota this Friday.
Despite LeBron’s absence, his teammates aren’t worried about the games to come, as the all-time NBA leading scorer remains questionable vs. Wolves
Teammate Christian Koloko admitted that LeBron’s absence was felt in the locker room, but that he’s not worried about the Lakers’ upcoming performances. “I mean, we know he already knows everything,” said the squad’s backup center. “He’s going to come back and he’s still going to be the same. He’s going to give everything on the court.
“We just got to do our part and just get better so that when he comes back, he can just look at us and be like, ‘Oh, yeah, [they] were actually working,’ when he wasn’t there. But we know he’ll come back and just pick up everything. He’s been in the NBA for a long time.”
While JJ Redick admitted to being in constant communication with James, he also revealed that his athletic trainer, Mike Mancias, is always making sure what is the best way forward to manage the veteran’s workload. The all-time NBA leading scorer is averaging 23 points on 49.5% shooting (35.9% from 3), 9.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds.
“In game, he’s asked for a sub a couple times because he’s gassed,” said the Lakers coach. “For us, we have to be cognizant as we play more and more games, just the cumulative effect of playing a lot of minutes and Sunday, being banged up with the foot thing, it felt like a good opportunity for him to get some rest.”
