Lakers Rumors: LA Sources Believe Darvin Ham Overplayed An Injured LeBron James
Did Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham overwork his best player?
As fan unrest grows following the team's latest loss yesterday to the Portland Trail Blazers (its fourth defeat in the team's last five games), Ham's decision-making when it comes to possibly extending 19-time All-Star power forward LeBron James has come into question.
On the latest edition of ESPN's Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective Podcast, LA insider Dave McMenamin revealed that his Lakers sources were apparently displeased with the way Ham used LeBron James on the club's latest road trip, which included playing him big minutes while apparently more hurt than he had let on.
“"Last weekend, it was the third time on that road trip I believe that he played 40+ minutes. Now two of them were overtime games, but still. 38 years old, 20th season, 40+ minutes on the regular. Some of the people I speak to around the team, let’s put it that way, were like, ‘What are we doing here, playing him 40 minutes again?'” McMenamin told Windhorst. “‘We’re going to run him into the ground?’ And it’s not the minutes necessarily. It’s the minutes while a player is dealing with something that’s been pervasive."
"It's his left foot," McMenamin said regarding the nature of the injury. "The team is terming it a 'left ankle injury,' but to me, what I've seen, the modalities and having someone from the staff work on it, it appears to be his foot more so than the ankle.”
This report only adds more fuel to the fire of another recent revelation from another LA insider, Chris Haynes, who revealed that the James foot/ankle/whatever injury was possibly severe, and could impact him for the rest of the 2022-23 season.
Will James return to LA for its final game ahead of the All-Star break? We'll find out tomorrow.
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