Lakers HC JJ Redick Announces Surprise LeBron James Usage Plan For Season

NBA Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The return of LeBron James to the court is quickly approaching for the Los Angeles Lakers.

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James reportedly practiced with the team on Monday. While there's no confirmation yet on his status, there's enough belief to think that he could feature for the Lakers on Tuesday night versus the Utah Jazz at home in Los Angeles.

As of this writing, the 10-4 Lakers sit in fourth place in the uber-competitive Western Conference. The team has gotten off to a terrific start largely on the backs of guards Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. The duo is combining to average a whopping 62.7 points, 14 rebounds, 17.1 assists, and 3.1 steals a night.

How the team utilizes James moving forward will be something to watch given the high usage of Reaves and Doncic so far. Having said that, according to head coach JJ Redick it appears as if the plan is to play James roughly 35 minutes a game which virtually corresponds with what he gave the ballclub a season ago.

JJ Redick noted that LeBron James will likely play “35ish” minutes per game once he’s ramped up. James averaged 34.9 minutes per game last season.

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Given that he turns 41 at the end of December, asking James to play 35 minutes per contest may seem like somewhat of a stretch. The goal surely is to keep him healthy throughout the year in order to maximize potentially his last playoff run with the franchise.

The team does appear to be deeper than a year ago. Deandre Ayton has done very well manning the center spot. Jaxson Hayes is more suited as a backup, and he too seemingly has improved from a year ago.

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When factoring in Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, Jake LaRavia, and another wing/guard (whether it be Jarred Vanderbilt, Dalton Knecht, Bronny James, or Gabe Vincent), the team has a nicely blended roation of veterans and young talents.

Getting James back onto the court more than anything will help in keeping Reaves and Doncic fresh. James obviously is quite comfortable orchestrating the offense as a primary ballhandler.

The Arrival of James Could Give Doncic and Reaves a Break

Doncic and Reaves are both averaging north of 36 minutes, and it would probably behoove the team if those numbers dropped slightly.

How Redick opts to stagger the minutes with the James-Doncic-Reaves trio will also be something to watch moving forward.

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