Training camp for the 2023-24 NBA season is slowly but surely approaching, and while there is plenty of time before it begins, it’s time for players to start ramping up their training and preparation.
That’s especially true for the Los Angeles Lakers, who are hoping to win their 18th world championship next summer. They magically remade what was a broken roster in January and February, and now they’re aiming for the sky rather than just trying to tread water.
Even at age 38, LeBron James remains the centerpiece of the Lakers. He continued to play at an elite level this past season, and it wouldn’t surprise many people if he does so again this coming campaign.
Focusing on these three goals would help ensure he does just that.
A reduced workload
At this point in his career, James can still be the best player on the court on any given night, but he can likely only do so in spurts rather than for the entire game.
Case in point: the Lakers’ final playoff game versus the Denver Nuggets. Looking to avoid a sweep, James had one of the most remarkable first halves of his career with 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting and 4-of-4 from 3-point range. The Lakers took a 73-58 lead at halftime as a result, but he played all but four seconds of the half, and thus he fizzled out after intermission, especially in the fourth quarter when he shot 1-of-6.
Los Angeles should ideally limit James to about 32 minutes a game in the regular season. In addition, it should continue to shift more of the ball-handling and facilitating duties to D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves.
Doing all that may not prevent James from aging, but it should allow him to keep Father Time at bay, at least for now.
Better 3-point shooting
In almost every department, James had his usual remarkable season, averaging 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists a game. However, he struggled from the outside. He made just 32.1 percent of his 3-point attempts during the regular season, which was one of the lowest marks of his career.
In the playoffs, that figure dropped to 26.4 percent. During the Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets, James routinely jacked up treys despite the fact that he was struggling, which was one reason why L.A. got swept.
He needs to get back to around the league average in terms of 3-point accuracy, which would put him at around 36 percent. If he doesn’t improve significantly, the only option for him would be to cut down on his 6.9 attempts a game from beyond the arc this past season.
Stay healthy
James used to be one of the NBA’s most durable players, but since coming to the Lakers, he has appeared to become somewhat brittle. He has played in 55, 67, 45, 56 and 55 games in his five seasons with the Purple and Gold, and the team simply cannot survive without him for a long stretch.
He missed a month near the end of this past regular season with a right foot injury, and surprisingly, the Lakers went 8-5 without him. But James coming down with another significant injury could mean no home-court advantage come playoff time, and that would reduce their shot at the NBA championship by a sizable margin.
Perhaps a reduced workload is all he will need to appear in at least 70 regular season games this year.
