Lakers Face Uncertain Season Start Without LeBron James
Amidst the uncertainty surrounding the absence of LeBron James, who is recovering from sciatica, the Los Angeles Lakers are preparing to face the initial challenges of the season. The other superstar on the team, Luka Doncic, has expressed that he doesn’t feel the pressure to take on a more prominent role in James’ absence.So far, without James and Doncic, the Lakers have not achieved victories in the preseason, with two losses against the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors. Lakers coach JJ Redick has not yet confirmed Doncic’s participation in the upcoming game against the Warriors. This Sunday begins a series of three preseason games in four days for the Lakers, including an away game against Phoenix on Tuesday and another against the Dallas Mavericks in Las Vegas on Wednesday. Redick indicated that Doncic will play in two of the remaining four preseason games. Doncic was actively involved on Saturday, after his workload was modified during the week to take care of the 26-year-old player, who competed with Slovenia in the EuroBasket this summer. “I had [the] national team,” Doncic explained. “I played a month or something like that of basketball [for Slovenia]. Obviously, there’s a long season ahead, so just because of that.” Now, Redick faces the challenge of filling the void left by James, who will be out of action for the next three to four weeks, while his sciatica condition is reevaluated. “We hope he returns soon. Those things can be complicated. It’s not clear what the starting lineup will be, that’s the reality, until he returns. We’ll have to figure that out,” Redick said. Doncic, along with Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton, will occupy three of the five positions in the starting lineup. Redick will have to decide on the other two starting positions, considering Rui Hachimura, who started in 57 of the 59 games he played last season, as well as Jarred Vanderbilt, who has started in the two preseason games and is in better physical condition since the Lakers’ participation in the 2023 Western Conference Finals, and new signings Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart. Smart, who has also been out at the start of the preseason due to Achilles tendinopathy, will play against the Warriors, according to Redick. Redick has considered having a lineup and rotation that better suits when James plays and another for when he doesn’t. Doncic mentioned that he and James have “talked a lot” while watching the Lakers’ training from the bench during training camp, which has helped the team’s chemistry. For the time being, what Doncic and the Lakers will get from James during the games is support from the bench. “It’s a big change,” Doncic said about having to play without James. “He’s a great player. He can help us a lot. But at the end of the day, our mentality has to be ‘next man up.’ We have a group of players who have been practicing and we hope LeBron can join us as soon as possible. Obviously, we’ll need him. But our mentality has to be ‘next man up.’ That’s all.”“I don’t see it that way. I just want to play basketball. If I do less, if I do more, whatever it takes to get a win,” Doncic declared.
Luka Doncic
