The Los Angeles Lakers are heading into the NBA playoffs with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the court, as both players have recovered from their injuries. However, there were concerns that the Lakers might limit their workloads in the postseason due to their injury history. Lakers Assistant Coach, Darvin Ham, talked about this issue and said that he doesn’t feel any restrictions are necessary for James and Davis.
Lakers’ Injury Struggles
The Lakers’ struggles with injuries to James and Davis have been a recurring theme in recent years. This season was no different, as both players missed significant time due to various injuries. But the final eight games of the regular season marked the longest streak of available time for James and Davis together since the beginning of the COVID season. The Lakers capitalized by winning six of those eight games, finishing seventh in the Western Conference standings.
The five-day break that followed helped both players get healthy, with Davis nursing his foot injury since December. However, he has assured fans that the sitting out was just a precautionary measure in recent months. On the other hand, James acknowledged his foot injury might require surgery after the end of the season.
Darvin Ham Not Restricting Workload
Despite these injury concerns, Assistant Coach Darvin Ham has confirmed that neither James nor Davis will have any limitations heading into the playoffs. Ham said he trusts them to know their own bodies well enough to manage their minutes accordingly.
This is a stark contrast to Head Coach Frank Vogel’s approach in his first two postseason runs with the Lakers. Vogel slightly limited James’ playoff minutes during those runs. In fact, LeBron played an average of 41.5 minutes per game throughout his career during postseasons. But playing fewer minutes may prevent him from breaking down physically earlier.
Ready for Playoffs
Overall, the Lakers seem confident that they’re healthy enough to be contenders in the playoffs. The pair has played well together this season, despite everything, with James averaging five fewer minutes and 2.3 fewer shots in the postseason as a Laker compared to his stints with the Cavaliers and Heat. Both players are excited to give it their all in the upcoming playoff series, which could be bad news for opponents.
Preview of Lakers vs Grizzlies Playoff Series
The Lakers will be starting their playoff campaign against the 8th-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, who finished the regular season with a record of 38-34. Despite being slight underdogs, the Lakers are oozing confidence as they prepare for this matchup.
James and Davis aren’t worried about Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr’s defense since they’ve got a plan to combat it. The Grizzlies ranked No. 3 in defensive rating during the regular season, and Jackson played a major role in that. However, given how well James and Davis have played together recently, it seems unlikely that any defense could stop them in their tracks.
The Lakers won 10 out of their last 12 games to close out their season and went 2-1 against the Grizzlies during the regular season. With a healthy roster and two superstars ready to go all out during the playoffs, it’s no surprise that the Lakers feel they have a lot to offer in this matchup.
Final Thoughts
As we head into yet another NBA postseason, one thing is clear: The Lakers are ready to compete at full strength. With James and Davis leading the way, coupled with an experienced coaching staff not looking to restrict them despite past injury scares, there is no doubt that they’re looking good for a deep playoff run. Whether they’ll be able to win another championship or not remains to be seen, but Lakers fans will be keenly watching this team as they embark on another playoff journey.
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