LeBron James is taking a week off before the start of the NBA to be fit for the opening game against the Timberwolves. He missed the last preseason games.
LeBron James is wrapping up the preseason and taking a week off before the NBA regular season begins. The 39-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar will be back on the field in the opening game against the Minnesota Timberwolves next Tuesday.
On Thursday, James sat out the game against the Phoenix Suns, a source confirmed to ESPN, that he will not play in the last preseason game on Friday against the Golden State Warriors. TNTReporter Jared Greenberg first reported James’ plans during the broadcast of the Lakers-Suns game.
James is entering his 22nd season, drawing level with Vince Carter, who also completed that many seasons in the league.
Statistics and game history
James finished the preseason averaging 12 points on 46.9 percent shooting (57.1 percent from the three-point line), 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.0 turnovers in 18.5 minutes over three games. The Lakers achieved a record of 1:2.
Originally, Redick had planned to use Thursday’s game as an extended dress rehearsal and give the players a break on Friday in San Francisco, the second game of a back-to-back series. However, those plans changed as both James and Rui Hachimura (calf problems) were sidelined against the Suns.
Redick’s adjustments
“You have to look at all the factors, and a lot of times you don’t live in an idealized world in this league, and that’s okay,” Redick said. “You can’t always execute things the way you want, and that’s okay. We had a dress rehearsal today – game day shootaround, film session, all that – and we’re going to do the same for our pregame. It’s the first time “We did that throughout the preseason, so we were still able to do some things that we wanted.”
