The Los Angeles Lakers are facing the possibility of having to win a pivotal Game 5 on the road without Anthony Davis. That means LeBron James would almost certainly have to step up in a big way.
When asked Monday about the possibility of James taking on a bigger load in Game 5 with the potential of Davis not playing, coach Frank Vogel hinted that James may see his minutes stretched out. He also added, however, that keeping James fresh for crunch time was a major consideration.
Vogel says the #Lakers will do “whatever we need to do to win this game” when asked by @jovanbuha if LeBron’s minutes will increase if AD doesn’t play.
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) May 31, 2021
He also pointed out that the more minutes LeBron plays, the less fresh he is for crunchtime, so that is something that will be considered as well.
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) May 31, 2021
The Lakers have been careful about managing James’ minutes in the first four games of the series. He topped out at 39 minutes in Game 2, and he has yet to break the 40-minute barrier this postseason. That might have to change to prevent the Lakers from falling into a 3-2 hole if Davis isn’t good to go in Game 5.
James battled an ankle injury for the latter part of the season, which also has to be taken into account here. That said, he’s downplayed those concerns, and he’d probably want to be on the court as much as possible with the Lakers in the position they’re in.
