Report: LeBron James ‘unlikely’ to play vs. Wolves

With a chance to give their star an extended rest, the Lakers look set to reportedly be without LeBron James for Friday’s contest in Minnesota against the Wolves.

The Lakers’ schedule break throughout last week and into next week looks set to be one they’ll take full advantage of.

Heading into this nearly week off on Sunday, LeBron James sat out the team’s win against Portland. Now, he looks set to rest at the end of the week as well. According to Shams Charania and Dave McMenamin of ESPN, LeBron is “unlikely” to play against the Wolves in Minnesota on Friday.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is unlikely to play Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources told ESPN.

It would give James, who missed Sunday’s game with foot soreness, eight days in between games if he returns Sunday against Memphis.

Notably, and likely related to this, LeBron did not participate in Lakers practice on Wednesday with head coach JJ Redick citing personal reasons for his excused absence.

LeBron played against the Hawks last Friday, logging a season-high 44 minutes, just the second time this year he’s cleared the 40-minute threshold. The Lakers picked up a win without him on Sunday against the Blazers.

If he doesn’t play against the Wolves, it would give him at least eight days between games, as McTen and Shams noted. Also, it would mean that he would play just one game over a 13-day window at most. If he even sits out against the Grizzlies at home, it would be nearly two weeks of rest in the middle of the season while only missing three games.

It may not be ideal for the Lakers, but they won’t be afforded a stretch like this for the remainder of the season, so maximizing it for LeBron to recuperate is an understandable priority.

This also comes on the heels of LeBron struggling during the Lakers’ recent road trip. While he finished it strong, the team’s most recent stop in Minnesota featured the whole team, LeBron chief among them, looking tired and exhausted.

It’s an oddity in the schedule for teams to have such a long period of either no games or few games. The Lakers and LeBron certainly look set to fully maximize this period before moving forward once again.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.