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Lakers News: LeBron James Confronts Darvin Ham About His Rotations In Season Opening Loss

Uncharted territory.

Lakers superstar LeBron James is used to a heavy minutes load despite his advanced age of 38. 

Such a trend for James' career made Tuesday night's season opener quite the change after the veteran played just 29 minutes to begin the 2023-24 season. 

James indicated he understood the philosophy of the idea in his post-game media availability but during the game a different story got told. Take a look for yourself:

The 21-year veteran's hunger to compete hasn't wavered despite his two decades in the spotlight as shown by this clip. 

James was the clear best player in LA's loss to Denver but the limited playing time may take some getting used to. 

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham already mentioned that James would play between 28-30 minutes a night which is several minutes behind his career averages. 

What's striking in the clip above is that James indicated a want to play point guard for the Lakers' second unit. 

Though he might not get his wish to play more minutes overall, what position he plays in those minutes may have some more merit. 

Neither D'Angelo Russell nor Gabe Vincent impressed as the Lakers' lead guard and James could play the role that he's always played as a primary ball handler and playmaker for his teams. 

Ham will have some choices to make after Anthony Davis' poor second half on top of poor play from most of LA's team other than James and Taurean Prince. 

Denver had three starters score 20 or more including Nikola Jokic's near 30-point triple-double to open up the Nuggets' title defense. 

James' minute situation will be one to monitor throughout this season as the team hopes to balance his regular season production with their championship aspirations. 

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