LeBron James is expected to adhere to a minutes restriction throughout the season as part of the Lakers’ long-term strategy, and his teammate, Austin Reaves, has shared his perspective on the matter.

Ensuring that an almost 39-year-old LeBron maintains optimal condition is a no-brainer. However, does limiting his playing time place additional pressure on players like Reaves and the rest of the Lakers’ supporting cast?

According to their shooting guard, it doesn’t change much. “I don’t think it changes anything,” Reaves explained to B/R. “We still have to go out there and play basketball the right way. I’m sure there are nights when Bron is feeling really well and plays a little more, and others when he plays a little less. But at the end of the day, all he cares about is winning. And that’s all we care about as a team.”

In their second regular-season game against the Suns on Thursday, LeBron played 35 minutes and delivered a stellar fourth-quarter performance, propelling the Lakers to a comeback 100-95 victory. Notably, he played the entire fourth quarter.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham commended LeBron’s spirit and intensity, stating, “He has that spirit, that intensity to put the team on his shoulders. I went to him and said, ‘How are we feeling? What do we want to do?’ He answered my question by staying in.”

On opening night against the Nuggets, James played for only 29 minutes, a noticeable departure from his career average of 38 minutes per game. After the loss to the reigning champions, Coach Ham clarified the reasoning behind managing LeBron’s minutes. “It’s easy with him to get caught up in the emotion of the game, and you tend to forget you want to play these long stretches, but in order for him to be as effective as possible, we have to be mindful of the minute output and how long his stretches are,” Ham explained, as reported by ESPN.