"Yeah, I think it's probably a little bit longer of a ramp-up leading into opening night for him just obviously in Year 23, it's uncharted territory here,"
"So, I felt, and in talking with performance and in talking with Mike (Mancias, James' personal trainer) and LeBron, like probably did too much last year in camp, which was great for me as a first-year head coach to get buy-in from him. But it'll be a slower process with him leading into the first game. He's obviously got 22 years so far of wear and tear on the body and he's dealing with a little bit of nerve irritation in the glute. So, we're just playing the long game with LeBron."
"He should be good to go live by the end of the week and we expect him to be able to play Friday,"
"And that's just, again, the management of, as we did last year as well."
LeBron James did not participate in the Lakers' first day of training camp because of nerve irritation in his glute. The Lakers plan a slower ramp-up for James as he begins his NBA-record 23rd season, with the goal of having him ready for the Oct. 21 regular-season opener against the Golden State Warriors at Arena. Coach JJ Redick said James likely overdid camp last year and that the team will play the long game to manage wear and tear. Marcus Smart, Gabe Vincent and Adou Thiero were under return-to-play or modified protocols. Vincent is expected to be available for Friday's preseason game, and Smart could be seen shooting after practice while the team takes it slow with his recovery.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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