The new season of the NBA is just around the corner and fans are hyped to see their favorite teams compete against one another with their new improved rosters. In their pre-season matchup, the Golden State Warriors are all set to tussle against the LA Lakers this Saturday. Amidst brewing expectations of two big market teams clashing before the season restart, ‘Spectrum SportsNet‘ recently shared a video of the Lakers power forward LeBron James’ announcement about Saturday’s game during a press conference, while discussing his pre-season plans.
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The video also featured Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham’s hilarious response to LBJ sharing his plans. Ham reacted to the King’s statement about Saturday’s game with a joke about his own status in the preseason.
Lakers’ HC hilariously reacts to LBJ’s absence in Saturday’s match
This season, King James will be entering his 21st year in the league and he seems ready to lead the squad. Before the pre-season match on Saturday, LBJ talked to the media about his availability for the coming matchups. He said:
“There are six pre-season games, so hopefully I can get to at least half of them. But we will see, I think every game will dictate, but I will not be playing Saturday’s game, that’s for sure.”
It’s only natural that the team is trying to give as much rest as possible to the player with one of the longest careers in the NBA, before the start of the regular season. However, when a reporter asked head coach Darvin Ham about LBJ’s response, the HC hilariously said,
“I’m not coaching either…Nah, I’m just joking.”
.@MarkG_Medina, @geeter3, & @Mike_Bresnahan speak on LeBron James missing the first preseason game on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/M9bNgedEgV
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) October 6, 2023
Jokes aside, the Lakers HC clarified his and the team’s strategy for managing LBJ in the upcoming season. He said that everyone, from the medical staff to the management, collaborates on making these decisions. Given the kind of experience LBJ brings, obviously, the franchise is a little more careful about his input. Ham also revealed the kind of load management the franchise intends for LBJ and how the management is planning to play their key ballers in the coming games.
Darvin Ham reveals Lakers’ strategy for LeBron James and Co.
Talking to the media, Ham revealed the kind of sync that the franchise has with the medical staff for formulating an effective plan for players. He seemed pretty confident in the Lakers’ new roster. Ham also believes that LBJ “has more experience, outside AD, than the whole team combined” so he “doesn’t have to start the season with his cape on”.
Adding to this, he said:
“The players around him will allow him to not have to be full throttle in every practice and pre-season game…He understands what the competition level will be like and he gets his work in. It just puts us at ease in terms of how we manage him”.
No doubt, every franchise wants its star players to play as many games as possible to keep them in shape and flow when the team needs them the most. Even the star center Anthony Davis resonated with the same idea as he revealed his wish to play in all 82 games this season. However, LBJ probably doesn’t need to play every game to bring his A game during clutch contests.
