Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has made it clear that he is firmly against the NBA's "load management" trend, and that he has no plans of missing any games unless he is seriously injured or ill. Over the weekend, James furthered explained why he feels it's absolutely necessary to play if he's healthy.
Says LeBron, "I don’t know how many games I got left in my career. I don’t know how many kids that may show up to a game that are there to come see me play, and if I sit out, then what?" He added, "If I'm healthy, I'm gonna play."
James' stance differs from the way the Los Angeles Clippers monitor their superstar forward, Kawhi Leonard. Prior to Tuesday night's game against the Phoenix Suns, head coach Doc Rivers addressed the recent load management debate, saying he thinks their way of operating is the "smart thing to do."
“It’s our philosophy,” Rivers said when asked about James’ comments. “I don’t know what theirs are. I think theirs is whatever LeBron says it is, to be honest. That makes a lot of sense to me. I like what we are doing, and I think it’s the smart thing to do. Who knows? We’ll see at the end.”
LeBron has appeared in each of L.A's 28 games this season, leading the team to an NBA-best 24-4 record. He is averaging 25.9 points to go along with a career-best 10.6 assists and 7.4 rebounds per night. Kawhi, meanwhile, has appeared in 21 games for the 21-9 Clippers.
There should be no healthy scratches the next time these two teams square off against one another - which will come on Christmas Day at 8pm ET.