Things have been rocky thus far this NBA season for the Los Angeles Lakers. They are currently 5-5 as they have been unable to build any positive momentum consistently in the early going. A big reason for that has been the injuries.
Los Angeles has been without Talen Horton-Tucker, Kendrick Nunn, and Trevor Ariza for the entirety of the season thus far. Horton-Tucker has resumed shooting, but none of the three are close to returning to the court.
In addition to them, the team has also been without LeBron James multiple times already this season. James has appeared in only six games thus far this season, missing time at first with a sore ankle and more recently with a strained ab muscle.
Los Angeles is 4-2 with James in the lineup and an ugly 1-3 without him. Two of those three losses have come at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who overcame large deficits both times to beat the Los Angeles Lakers.
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He is still a force on the court, as he is averaging 24.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, seven assists and 2.3 steals in 37 minutes per game. So, there are no real issues production-wise when he is on the court, it is just a matter of him being healthy enough to play.
James has been adamant that he does not like load management, but it might be something the team has to consider working into a plan to keep him healthy. Knowing specific times that James will be sidelined is a lot easier to handle than dealing with an injury that pops up out of nowhere.
James is turning 37-years old in December and has a lot of mileage on his body. He has 266 postseason games, which is more than three regular seasons worth of games played and has numerous appearances in international play for Team USA as well.
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While none of the injuries are serious for James, it is fair for the organization to be worried about him long-term. The nagging injuries add up, as he will have missed at least half of the games this season once he returns from the ab strain.
LeBron James does as much as anyone to keep his body healthy and in peak condition to perform. That is what has helped him get to this point in his career. But, at the end of the day, he is battling against Father Time. Father Time is undefeated and while James has put up a valiant effort, he will eventually lose to him as well.
