Lakers' LeBron James dismisses need for rest in second half of season: 'It's go time'

Rest?

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James laughed off whether he had any during the NBA All-Star break after appearing in the showcase game for the 17th time in his career. Then, the 36-year-old James dismissed the idea that he might need some for the second half of the season.

"It’s go time," James said Thursday. "It’s time to get prepared and make that turnaround and that last lap going into the postseason."

James missed the Lakers’ last game in Sacramento on March 3 because of what the team cited as a sprained left ankle. But that absence also bought James an extra day to rest before appearing in Sunday’s All-Star Game despite his frustrations about the NBA holding one in a compressed season.

But when the Lakers began practice on Thursday, James sounded somewhat rejuvenated after spending the past three days relaxing with his family. Well, rejuvenated enough not to feel that he will sign up for a load management program for the Lakers’ final 35 games, which includes eight sets of back-to-backs.

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"I want to feel as good as I possibly can. But at the end of the day, I’m never going to be healthy again," James said. "I haven’t been healthy since the first year I entered the league. You get bumps and bruises and nicks and knacks. I do a great job of keeping my body in the best possible shape that I can possibly be in that particular season. But more importantly, it’s not about my body. It’s my mind. As long as my mind is fresh, I can get over the bumps and bruises that my body may endure. At the end of the day, my mind on the floor gets me through games and I’m still able to play at a high level that you wouldn’t really understand because of my IQ."

James has managed to do that for the most part in the 2020-21 season. He has only missed one game this season and has avoided any major injuries. He has proven so far not to need to preemptively limit his workload, averaging 25.8 points while shooting 50.9% from the field and 35.8% from 3-point range along with 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists.

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Still, the Lakers (24-13) are third in the Western Conference behind the Utah Jazz (27-9) and Phoenix Suns (24-11) after losing seven of their past 10 games. That has coincided with forward Anthony Davis sitting out with a strained right calf, as well as guard Dennis Schroder missing four games because of the league’s health and safety protocols. The Lakers also rank 24th out of 30 NBA teams in 3-point shooting (35.1%).

James did not sound concerned, however, saying, "I believe when we’re whole and we’re full, we can compete with anyone in the world." Schroder has returned. Davis will miss Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, but the Lakers plan to reevaluate him then and projected earlier that he would be sidelined for four weeks.

Therefore, James downplayed whether the Lakers need to upgrade their roster leading into the March 25 trade deadline and the subsequent buyout market. That differs in past seasons when James called on the Cleveland Cavaliers to upgrade their rosters before the trade deadline and two years ago with the Lakers when he publicly called on the team to acquire Davis from New Orleans. Though the Lakers would keep an open mind with upgrading their 3-point shooting and frontcourt depth, they have a $135.8 million payroll and can only spend up to another $3.1 million because they are currently hard-capped.

"I’m not in the mind frame as far as what needs to happen as far as our roster," James said. "For us, what needs to happen is we want to play better basketball with the group that we got. I believe in every guy in our locker room and every guy that hits the floor on every given night. Obviously throughout the course of the season, if there is an opportunity for your team to get better throughout trades or the market of guys getting bought out and things of that nature, you assess that then. But I don’t put my mindset to it. I don’t really think about it in my career. I love what we have."

That starts with James, who plans to rev up his engine soon.

"I use the first half of the season of being in gear one, two and three," James said. "Second half, being more 4, 5 and 6. Then when the playoffs start, you’re in 7. That’s the way I judged the last few years of my career on ramping up more and more and more."

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