Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick said it "may not be in the best interests" of LeBron James to feature in all 82 games this season after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves. (More NBA News)
The Lakers have now lost five of their last seven games after winning six in a row, the latest defeat coming on Monday in a 109-80 thrashing against the Timberwolves.
And four-time MVP James, who turns 40 this month, endured a difficult outing, missing 12 of 16 shots while managing a season-low of just 10 points in 31 minutes.
James also registered more turnovers (six) than assists (four) in the defeat, as the Lakers scored their fewest points since a 122-73 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in January 2017.
After James made it clear that he wanted to play all 82 games earlier this season, coach Redick said he was unsure whether that goal was sustainable.
"We are measuring the players, and we can tell when a guy is running hot. He does a remarkable job of taking care of his body and recovering," Redick said.
"But I don't know if it's in the best interests of him or us if he does that. But if he's feeling well and good, he should play. But obviously, we want to manage that the best we can."
"I've not seen us play the way we played earlier in the year," Redick added. "I mean, I've got to spend all day tomorrow with my staff trying to figure out how we get back to that."
James바카라 웹사이트played in his 1,800th바카라 웹사이트game on Monday between the regular season and playoffs combined, the most all-time by any player, ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,797).
Despite reaching that landmark, he바카라 웹사이트did not commit either way to continuing to suit up in every game this season amid his recent run of form.바카라 웹사이트
"It's everything," James said when asked what is frustrating him about his game at the moment. "It's the rhythm. I just felt off rhythm the last few, three or four games."
When asked what he would lean on to get his shot back, James replied: "Work. Just work. That's all."
Anthony Davis바카라 웹사이트also had a season low against Minnesota, totalling just 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting with 11 rebounds and five바카라 웹사이트assists.
"We got to get back into our spacing," Davis said. "We are kind of on top of each other when guys are trying to drive.
"When guys are in their spots for shooting, there's a guy right under them. So the spacing is bad."
With one quarter of the regular season completed, the Lakers are 12-9, sitting eighth in the Western Conference with the Miami Heat up next.바카라 웹사이트
Redick labelled his side's season as "inconsistent" so far, with Davies more pointed in his critiques of his team-mates.바카라 웹사이트
"Sometimes we look like a team that can compete with anyone, and sometimes we look like a team that looks terrible and is not going to do anything this season," he said.바카라 웹사이트
"So we have just got to figure out what team we want to be for the rest of the season.바카라 웹사이트
"I think we had games where we were phenomenal, and we had games where we were disgusting, like tonight."
