Last night, The Los Angeles Lakers clinched their first win against the Los Angeles Clippers since the 2020 Bubble season. A contest that witnessed 8 lead changes and 8 ties went down to the wire, with the Lakers winning in overtime. The two-game win streak will enable some confidence to the LeBron James-led squad, who are set to begin a four-game road trip.
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LeBron James put on a show against the Clippers, despite being guarded by one of the best defenders – Kawhi Leonard – in the league. The King finished the night with a 35-point, 12-rebound, and 7-assist near triple-double. Before the regular season commenced, it was reported that Darvin Ham would only allow the 6ft 9” forward to play 28-30 minutes. However, the 38-year-old played for 42:29 minutes right after playing 33 minutes against the Magic and 39 minutes against the Kings.
LeBron James tonight:
35 points
11 rebounds
7 assists
2 blocks
68% FG pic.twitter.com/0eok9RUBkT— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 2, 2023
Following the Lakers-Clippers contest, Skip Bayless addressed LeBron’s game time. Taking it to X (formerly “Twitter”), Bayless lauded LBJ for a brilliant performance before revealing that he didn’t want to hear any excuses about the Lakers being drained come playoff time.
“LeBron played pretty well … but so much for his “minutes restriction.” 42 minutes tonight! OK, but no playoff excuses. I do not want to hear, “He ran out of gas.”
LeBron played pretty well … but so much for his “minutes restriction.” 42 minutes tonight! OK, but no playoff excuses. I do not want to hear, “He ran out of gas.”
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 2, 2023
LeBron James has played 35.7 MPG so far
This isn’t the first time that Skip Bayless criticized LeBron James for his playing time this campaign. After the Lakers’ first back-to-back game of the season, the UNDISPUTED analyst had a similar take.
“Surprised LeBron is playing back to back tonight after 39 minutes last night in Sac. So much for pacing himself this season. But I don’t want to hear in the playoffs that he “ran out of gas.”
Surprised LeBron is playing back to back tonight after 39 minutes last night in Sac. So much for pacing himself this season. But I don’t want to hear in the playoffs that he “ran out of gas.”
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 31, 2023
Before his year 21 began, it was reported that LBJ would be taking on the floor for merely 28-30 minutes. In order to comply with the new “load management” rules, this seemed like a great technique to prevent James from suffering any injuries.
However, five games into the season, the superstar has only played below 30 minutes once. Since suiting up for 29 minutes in the opening night clash against the Nuggets, the four-time MVP has played for 37.25 MPG in the next four games.
Despite the prolonged action time that he’s seeing, LeBron’s productivity has been great. The 19-time All-Star has been shooting the ball at 56.5% from the field while lodging 24.6 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game.
