The Los Angeles Lakers put the rest of the NBA on notice with Sunday night's 126-99 win over the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder. It was the kind of performance the Lakers needed as they head into the regular season's final stretch as the West's No. 3 seed with a 48-30 record, surpassing last year's win total with their latest victory.
It looks like the Lakers are heating up at the right time, especially now that Luka Doncic has had two months to create chemistry with his new teammates. Head coach JJ Redick is clearly making all the right decisions to set his team up for postseason success, including his potential plans for LeBron James this week.
Lakers Looking to Potentially Rest LeBron James Before Playoffs
The Lakers have four games remaining on their schedule, which includes a back-to-back road situation against the Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Even though plans can change, James hinted at potentially missing one of those games following Los Angeles' latest win.
"We got that (win) out of the way, now I'm going to go shoot 'Mind the Game' with Steve Nash," James said when asked about missing one of the back-to-back matchups, per NBA insider Dave McMenamin. "So, let's get there when we get there."
While James has been known to rest during back-to-back situations, that hasn't been the case in 2024-25. The four-time NBA MVP has played nine games without rest this season, and the only time he missed outings on consecutive days was during a seven-game absence last month.
With that in mind, the Lakers would be doing the right thing by giving James some pre-playoff rest. Even though the Western Conference seeding is fairly fluid, the last thing Redick & Co. needs is for their star player to suffer a significant injury for the postseason because they played him in back-to-back outings.
Assuming that James sits either of the two mid-week games, it's more likely that he'll sit against the Thunder after beating them on Sunday. Although it was far from the 40-year-old's best performance this season, the Akron, OH native still played a big role by tallying 19 points on 56.3% shooting with seven assists and eight free throws made.
Besides, it's hard to imagine James missing Wednesday's game against the Mavericks as it'll mark former teammate Anthony Davis' first time facing the Lakers since the deadline trade. Los Angeles previously faced Dallas on Feb. 25, however, Davis was absent from the contest due to a thigh injury.
Hopefully, the Lakers' upcoming lineup decisions regarding James and the rest of their star players pay off in the playoffs. They'll need all hands on deck if they want to bring L.A. its first Larry O'Brien Trophy since the 2019-20 campaign.
Speaking of which, the Lakers will head into the regular season's final week tied for the fourth-best NBA Finals odds (+1800) on FanDuel Sportsbook.
