Sources: LeBron James to play on minutes restriction for rest of season
With the Los Angeles Lakers fading further from playoff contention, LeBron James’ time on the court this season will be cut down.
Sources told Yahoo Sports that the two sides — James’ camp and the Lakers’ front office — agreed on a minutes restriction for James for the remainder of the season. James will play in the range of 28-32 minutes per game, a drop from the 35.6 minutes per game he is averaging to this point in the season. Additionally, James may sit out some games when the Lakers play on back-to-back days depending on how the 34-year-old feels.
With a 115-99 home loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, the Lakers dropped to 30-35 on the season. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Lakers, who now are tied for 10th place in the Western Conference standings — 6.5 games back of the eighth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers.
In the loss to the Nuggets, James passed Michael Jordan on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. James now sits fourth behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and Kobe Bryant.
James, who missed 18 games earlier this year with a groin injury, is averaging 27.1 points per game this season, his first with the Lakers.
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