LeBron's health becomes Lakers' biggest concern

LeBron James has spent the last two weeks exuding restless energy. On good nights, the Los Angeles Lakers forward has coped with injury by serving as a Staples Center ambassador, making the rounds to personally greet celebrities at their courtside seats. On bad nights, James has strode out near centre court to object to the officiating and headed for the locker-room well before the buzzer during ugly losses.

There have been more bad nights than good without James for the West's pre-season favourites, who entered Friday's play with an 8-8 record despite a soft and home-heavy schedule. The Lakers, who upgraded James to questionable for Friday's contest with the Boston Celtics, have looked like a lottery team in the 10 games that he has missed with ankle and abdominal injuries. Instead of banking early wins and working through fit questions with Russell Westbrook following an off-season overhaul, the angsty Lakers have twice blown double-digit leads to the Oklahoma City Thunder, got run off the court by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Chicago Bulls and fallen back into the middle of the conference standings.

“We suck,” all-star forward Anthony Davis said last week. “We're not winning a championship the way that we're playing.”

Plenty has gone wrong: Westbrook is averaging 5.2 turnovers per game, Davis has yet to develop a reliable partnership with his new point guard, centres DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard have struggled to add value and the defence has sagged badly with so many key pieces departing over the summer. However, the biggest issue by far has been James' spotty health. The Lakers weren't built to win without him.

James knows this better than anyone, devoting countless hours and millions of dollars to maintaining his body. After leading the Lakers to the title at the Disney World bubble, the four-time champion made a point to note that he had never missed a playoff game in his career and that “the best thing you could do for your teammates is to be available.” Indeed, the future Hall of Famer has cherished his 19-year run on centre stage so much that he sometimes scribbles “Man in the Arena” on his sneakers, nodding to the famous Theodore Roosevelt speech. That man isn't meant for the sidelines.

Before his 2018 arrival in Los Angeles, James, who turns 37 in December, was a paragon of durability. During his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, spanning seven seasons, James appeared in 95 per cent of his team's games. During his four-year run with the Miami Heat, James posted a 94 per cent availability rate. And even as he entered his 30s during his second stint with the Cavaliers, he managed to appear in 92 per cent of his team's games over four years.

His Los Angeles tenure has been a different story. Now in his fourth season with the Lakers, James has appeared in just 72 per cent of his team's games, missing lengthy stretches with a groin strain in 2018-19 and a high ankle sprain last season. With James, the Lakers have posted a 112-61 (.647) record since his arrival, which equates to a 53-win pace over an 82-game schedule. Without him, they have gone 27-41 (.397), a 33-win pace.

James has logged more than 50,000 regular season minutes and an NBA-record 11,035 post-season minutes. Unlike last season, when the Lakers rushed back onto the court after the bubble, James had more than four months of rest and recovery time following a first-round exit. He didn't compete in the Tokyo Olympics and played sparingly during the pre-season to save himself for games that mattered.

Much of the discussion about James's uncertain fit with Westbrook has centred on which player gets to have the ball, but pace is another worry. The Lakers have shot up from 21st in pace last season to second this season with Westbrook, and that style of play could prove taxing. Although James has long resisted strategic resting and other forms of load management, his early average of 37 minutes per game seems unsustainable. Something has to give.

“As you get older, there's certain things your body doesn't want to do,” Dwyane Wade, James' Heat running mate, said in an interview last week. “These little knickknack injuries, that's how it started with me. Then it turns into bigger injuries. Eventually it gets on your nerves. It's not from a lack of being able to play basketball. I didn't lose my talent. I just lost other things that helped my talents become great, and I didn't want to do it anymore.”

James remains focused on a fifth ring, holds a max contract that runs through the 2022-23 season and closes in on his longtime dream of playing alongside his 17-year-old son Bronny. But James has reached the point where his indestructible days are gone. He can no longer shake off every minor setback by simply tightening his shoelaces and playing on.

When he returns to the court, James will be greeted by a few doses of good news. Third-year guard Talen Horton-Tucker has impressed since returning from thumb surgery. Carmelo Anthony has quickly solidified himself as a fan favourite thanks to his timely three-point shooting. And head coach Frank Vogel has shifted Davis to centre in his starting lineup, a natural and anticipated adjustment aimed at creating space and maximizing Westbrook's value.

Those developments will only matter if James can maintain good health for the balance of this season and help the Lakers catch up to the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns in the chemistry department.

History suggests the Lakers' title hopes won't survive another extended absence from their franchise player.

LeBron James