After a few injury-filled seasons, LeBron James and Anthony Davis both managed to play over 70 games last season for the first time as Lakers teammates.
Challenges Despite Health:
Even with their stars healthy, the Lakers only finished as the seventh seed and were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. This must have been really tough for them. As we look ahead to the 2024-25 season, it’s hard to believe that these aging players will stay healthy again, especially after playing in the Paris Games.
Redick’s Confidence:
Their new coach, JJ Redick, isn’t worried about their workload. On the “Lakeshow” podcast, he said he expects both players to fully participate in training camp. “I mean, look, those guys are professionals in every sense of the word,” Redick said about James and Davis. “My concern for them about whether or not they’ll be ready to play on Oct. 22 and be in shape, I don’t have that concern.”
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jj-redick-is-ready-for-training-camp-to-begin/id1558463196?i=1000668591220
Injury Concerns:
While it’s great that Redick is optimistic, it’s clear both James and Davis have had many injuries recently. Between 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons, they missed a combined total of 184 games! This has hurt their chances of making a deep playoff run.
Can James and Davis stay healthy again this year?
Load Management Strategy:
Redick might use analytics to manage their playing time carefully. But with how competitive the Western Conference is, they can’t afford to rest James or Davis too much.
Fans hope they can pull it off!
The Lakers are projected to win 44.5 games this season after winning 47 last year. Oddsmakers don’t seem too confident that James (39) and Davis (31) will stay healthy all season long.
https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/nba/nba-odds-predictions-season-win-totals-bm23/
