PORTLAND, Ore. — As Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick began preparing for Thursday's matchup with Portland, the second night of a back-to-back after losing to the Charlotte Hornets, he wasn't sure if LeBron James would be available.
The Lakers didn't land in Portland until nearly 3 a.m. PT. James didn't go to sleep until an hour later. He spent most of the day sleeping — he slept for eight hours, did an hour and a half of training and rehab, and then went back to sleep for another three hours. He normally takes the first bus to the arena, getting there as early as possible, but he switched up his routine and took the last bus at 5 p.m. local time instead.
Redick worried that the Lakers, having lost two games in a row, would be without James and Luka Dončić (left calf injury management) against a Portland squad that had won 10 of 14 games. He didn� �t get word that James would be playing until the afternoon after James went through his pregame routine with longtime trainer Mike Mancias.
Not only did James play, but he helped the Lakers get out of their rut by scoring 40 points and making several clutch plays in their 110-102 win over the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center. The Lakers improved to 33-21 and remain No. 5 in the West.
With Dončić and Jarred Vanderbilt (right foot surgery management) out, the Lakers were shorthanded among their normal top eight of the rotation. It didn't matter, though, as James single-handedly halted the Trail Blazers' second-half runs multiple times with an array of jumpers, drives and post-ups.
"He really just defies anything that's normal," Redick said. "And not just the physical feats and the plays. It's the mentality. I believe I saw the other day, he's a billionaire. And he's playing on the second night of a back-to-back at 40 after 22 years with every fri cking record and every accolade. And the kids will say that I'm glazing him. He's one of the greatest competitors.
"He's amazing to coach. He brings it every single day. He sets the standard for how you're supposed to approach this craft. And that's to me, the most incredible thing. It's just a mindset to do it, get up the next day, do it, get up the next day, do it, over and over and over again."
It was James' second time scoring 40 points since turning 40 on Dec. 30, making him the first player in NBA history with multiple 40-point games at age 40 or older. The Lakers are 2-0 in those games. James also achieved the feat in his 1,542nd regular-season game of his career, passing Vince Carter for No. 3 on the all-time regular-season games played list.
When asked why he decided to play through his left foot injury, which he said on Wednesday he'll hav e to manage the rest of the season, James pointed to his deep love of basketball and the example he wants to set for his son and teammate, Bronny James.
"I still love the game," James said. "And I still got a lot to give to the game, to give to my teammates, to give to this league for while I'm here. I don't have much time left. So, while I'm here today in this time, I'm going to try to give what I got when I'm out on the floor. So, why? It's the love of the game, and I have an opportunity now to show my son the ranks of how to be a professional in this league. And to be along (with) him every single day, that's a treat."
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Austin Reaves, who helped James carry the offense with 32 points, said that the only explanation for continuing to doubt James is if one's allegiance is to His Airness.
"He really doesn't have anything else to prove," Reaves said of James. "An d if people say he does, then they're (Michael) Jordan fans."
James might not have needed to rescue the Lakers with 12 fourth-quarter points if it weren't for his 11 turnovers, which tied his career-worst mark. He had half of the Lakers' turnovers (22). Ball security has been an issue, at times, for him this season, as it has been for Reaves and Dončić too.
Redick said that despite the Lakers' miscues (Reaves had six turnovers), the absences of Dončić and Vanderbilt, and their poor shooting performance (28.1 percent on 3s), they were resilient and gritty in a way that was encouraging.
"There's actually only one cheat code in the NBA, and that's playing hard," Redick said. "If you play hard every night, you have a chance to win. If you don't play hard every night, you're probably going to lose."
Redick also said Dončić, who has appeared in just three games since Christmas, is expected to play in back-to-backs moving forward.
There is plenty still to figure out for the Lakers, in the short- and long-term. They need to sharpen up offensively. They probably need to establish a clearer hierarchy. Dončić needs to recover from his calf injury and get in better game shape. They need to find the best way to deploy Dončić, Reaves and Rui Hachimura together defensively.
Redick made it abundantly clear that the burden to address the early bumps in the road of the Dončić Era is on the collective group.
"It's all of us," Redick said before the game. "It's not just the staff. It's the players too. It's them and us working together to find the balance to allow our three best players to be at their best. You've seen this happen a million times in the NBA. It doesn't happen in three games. It might not happen in three months. That's just the reality of how these things work. We're all committed to making it work."
No one is more committed than James, who continues to de fy the aging curve and offer reminders of what makes him so great.
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(Photo: Alika Jenner / Getty Images)
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