Doc Rivers cracked a funny joke on Tuesday night when talking about LeBron James’ views on load management.
James reiterated his stance this week about playing in games, saying as long as he’s healthy, he wants to play for the fans who paid to see him. That approach seems to differ from Kawhi Leonard’s with the LA Clippers.
Leonard began sitting out games last season with the Raptors to manage his quad injury, and he ended up leading Toronto to their first ever NBA championship. He has continued to sit out games this season, sparking questions about whether he is sitting out due to injury or just to rest.
“It’s our philosophy,” Rivers said Tuesday of load management. “I don’t know what [the Lakers’] are. I think theirs is whatever LeBron says it is. That makes a lot of sense to me.”
Rivers is probably right — the Lakers do what LeBron wants. And that’s probably the same deal with the Clippers — they do what the superstar wants. The league is driven by the stars, and the teams lucky enough to sign the superstars probably have to do what the players want regarding sitting out games.
“I like what we’re doing. I think it’s the smart thing to do,” Rivers said.
Doc Rivers on LeBron James’ take on load management pic.twitter.com/P7qdWqEQW6
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) December 18, 2019
Having Leonard miss games is frustrating for fans and TV partners, but the Clippers will probably be happy when the forward is fresher for the playoffs.
Clippers fans, show everyone who runs Los Angeles with this great “We Run LA” shirt:
