When LeBron James signed a four-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, the front office and head coach Luke Walton made it abundantly clear they would remain mindful of his workload and take a big-picture view.
The Lakers purposely filled out their roster with ballhandlers who would alleviate the playmaking burden on James, and Walton has played his superstar a career-low 35.3 minutes per game.
With the team heading toward a sixth consecutive season of missing the playoffs, James’ playing time has been further reduced. With that, the Lakers are also evaluating when to keep him out of games entirely, particularly in back-to-back scenarios.
Although that isn’t the case Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, James will not play due to lingering effects from his strained groin suffered last Christmas, per Tania Ganguli of the L.A. Times:
LeBron James will not play tonight due to a sore left groin.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 19, 2019
Furthermore, Lance Stephenson will miss another game because of a sprained toe, and the Lakers could be without Josh Hart as well, but potentially have Tyson Chandler:
Lance Stephenson is out for tonight in Milwaukee, Josh Hart is questionable and Tyson Chandler is probable.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 19, 2019
In recently explaining the team’s approach to monitoring James’ minutes more closely, Walton revealed the 16-year veteran was still dealing with remnants of his groin strain. Though, Walton has also made it clear the team can extend James’ minutes if they are pursuing a win on any given night.
While he expressed an understanding of the approach and decision, James said the arrangement has challenged him mentally.