Lakers plan to limit LeBron James’ minutes

LeBron James had a 29-minute stint on the court during the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener against the Denver Nuggets. After the game, Lakers head coach Darvin Ham mentioned that this is the strategy they intend to follow throughout the season.

“It’s easy with him to get caught up in the emotion of the game and you tend to forget you want to play these long stretches, but in order for him to be as effective as possible, we have to be mindful of the minute output and how long his stretches are,” Ham said.

Ham outlined the strategy to restrict LeBron James to 28-30 minutes per game, emphasizing that it’s a day-to-day decision. In response, James expressed no surprise or disappointment about the comparatively low playing time.

“Listen, I mean, I always want to be on the floor. Especially when you got an opportunity to win a game or you feel like you can make an impact,” James said. “But this is the system in place and I’m going to follow it.”