Anytime that you think things cannot get worse for the Los Angeles Lakers this NBA season, they seem to find a new rock bottom. They are currently riding a three-game losing streak, losing 11 out of their last 14 games overall.
They continue to have listless efforts on a nearly nightly basis as they have not been able to compensate for the loss of Anthony Davis.
In this most recent stretch of games, they have losses to the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and Portland Trail Blazers, all teams on the outside looking in of the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Western Conference.
As pointed out by Legion Hoops on Twitter, the Lakers haven’t won a game since the All-Star break in which LeBron James hasn’t scored at least 50 points. They are 0-9 since the break when he doesn’t score that much.
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That raises the question, should James be shut down for the remainder of the season? It is clear that the Lakers aren’t going anywhere this season, as they will be lucky to even make the field of eight for the postseason.
However, James has already said until the team is eliminated, he will be playing and trying to win games. So, it would be extremely unlikely that he is shut down at any point during the season.
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Los Angeles is 29-40 right now and in ninth place in the Western Conference. They are 2.5 games ahead of the 11th place Portland Trail Blazers, so there is a good chance that the Los Angeles Lakers at least qualify for the Play-In Tournament.
As long as that is a possibility, James will not be missing games unless he is legitimately injured. Despite how things have gone, James isn’t one to quit on his teammates and sit out unless absolutely necessary.
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Shutting LeBron James down would make some sense. Now 37-years old and with some injury concerns this season, it could be something that he is more open to. But, James has spoken out against rest nights, as he isn’t a fan of load management. Ultimately, shutting things down for the remainder of the season isn’t something he would want to do.
