LEBRON PUTTING HIS FANS FIRST
Forget load management; aging Lakers superstar says he’s playing unless he’s hurt
It was nice to hear Lebron James speak recently of his obligation to paying fans.
The NBA season is too long, most would agree, but until that changes, the answer shouldn’t be superstars often sitting out games.
Only Karl Malone has come close to doing what Lebron James is accomplishing this deep into his career, but that doesn’t mean James wants to rest much. While one Los Angeles team is all about “load management” with Kawhi Leonard, the other takes a different approach, thanks to James.
“If I’m hurt, I don’t play. If not, I’m playing,” James told ESPN back in November.
That stance hasn’t wavered since then, even if load management is all the rage and even though the Lakers are off to a great start and might not need Lebron every night.
“If I’m healthy, I play,” James told reporters on Sunday.
“That should be the approach. I mean, unless we’re getting to, like, late in the season and we’ve clinched and we can’t get any better or any worse, it could benefit from that, but why wouldn’t
I play if I’m healthy? It doesn’t make any sense to me, personally.
“I mean, I don’t know how many games I got left in my career. I don’t know how many kids that may show up to a game and they’re there to come see me play and if I sit out, then what? That’s my obligation.”
It’s the right thing for one of the five best players in NBA history to say and it’s yet another sign that he gets it. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird felt the same way.
The approach might be rubbing off. Lebron’s running mate and fellow superstar Anthony Davis, who has missed quite a bit of action over the years due to various ailments, decided to stay in Sunday’s game against Atlanta despite tweaking his ankle.
Davis did say he got by mostly on adrenalin, though, and sure enough, he was held out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game against Indiana. Even so, sitting due to a legitimate injury is far different than simply being rested because the schedule is too tough. A greyer area is how to treat a star like Leonard, who might be managing his previous leg issues for the rest of his career to some degree.
STERN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION
Former NBA commissioner David Stern remained in serious condition in a New York hospital following emergency surgery, the league said in an update on Tuesday. Stern, who headed the
NBA for 30 years, suffered a sudden brain hemorrhage last week while eating a meal.
“He’s receiving great care and surrounded by his loved ones,” the NBA statement read.
Stern was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
SUNS GETTING A BIG LIFT
Phoenix held the fort quite well without 2018 No. 1 overall selection Deandre Ayton, but that doesn’t mean they won’t welcome the big man back.
Ayton was due back on Tuesday night following a 25-game suspension for testing positive for a diuretic.
The Suns went 11-15 without Ayton, who averaged 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds as a rookie and added 18 and 11 in his season debut before the suspension.
Former Celtics centre Aron Baynes and Charlotte castoff Frank Kaminsky filled in for Ayton, along with Dario Saric, but they’re completely different players.
Phoenix had lost four of five before Tuesday, but head coach Monty Williams cautioned that Ayton shouldn’t be treated as a saviour.
TRADE CHATTER HEATS UP
Now that more than 100 players who signed in the off-season can be traded, it seems like the rumour mill is picking up steam.
Julius Randle has been bandied about as a potential name being dangled by the New York Knicks, and even long-standing players could be up for grabs.
The New York Times reported that the struggling New Orleans
Pelicans are willing to engage in talks for star guard Jrue Holiday after resisting since the Zion Williamson lottery win.
Holiday was an ALL-NBA third team choice a year ago and is one of the best two-way players in the league. He would be in high demand.
There seems to be more parity than usual this year, and no lone powerhouse like during the Golden State days, so that could encourage more teams to make moves.
Each conference has two squads with at least 20 wins, which is a rarity for mid-december in most years.
AROUND THE RIM
Washington will be without rookie forward Rui Hachimura for at least five games after he suffered a groin injury in a game against Detroit on Monday. The No. 9 pick of the 2019 draft is averaging 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game ... It was the night of the rally as Oklahoma City came back from 26 down to beat Chicago and Houston stormed back from a 25-point deficit against San Antonio on Monday to win by two points. The Spurs have been playing some extremely competitive basketball lately. The team recently played an NBA record four straight overtime games ... Thursday’s Lakers-versus-bucks clash will be the first time in league history that two teams that each had fewer than five losses at this point in the season or later meet in a game ... In case you missed it, Milwaukee won’t have starting point guard Eric Bledsoe in the lineup for two
weeks and Charlotte lost standout rookie forward P.J. Washington for a number of weeks due to a fractured finger . ... In bigger news, Minnesota superstar Karl-anthony Towns has a knee injury, per the Athletic.