LeBron James, who was away from the Lakers this week due to “personal reasons,” will miss Friday’s game in Minnesota against the Timberwolves.
On Thursday, the team listed him as out due to left foot soreness, an issue that surfaced last week after the Lakers played the Miami Heat. James sat out the team’s win against Portland on Sunday.
“For us, we have to be cognizant of the fact that we’re playing more and more games, just the cumulative effect of playing a lot of minutes,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said after practice on Wednesday. “And on Sunday, when he got hit with his foot, it felt like a good opportunity for him to get some rest.”
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James had called playing all 82 games “a goal” several times, though Redick acknowledged that might not have been the best thing for the Lakers or James.
In 23 games this season, he averaged 23 points, 8.0 rebounds and 9.1 assists.
However, the Lakers are on track for Austin Reaves to make his return after missing five games with a pelvic contusion, the result of a hard fall in the Lakers’ loss to Oklahoma City.
The Lakers play Memphis again on Sunday, which would mean a full week of rest for James. If he misses that game against the Grizzlies, the Lakers are off until the following Thursday – a period that would mean a nearly two-week break between games.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
