LeBron James won’t play tonight against the Houston Rockets, but him resting in the final back-to-back the Lakers have this season isn’t nearly as interesting as what he said last night to reporters in the Orlando bubble about some adversity the Lakers are facing inside their Disney-branded abode.
The Lakers have had two of their worst offensive performances of the season, including a season-low 86 points last night, in the bubble. But LeBron James said last night the Lakers are facing some real obstacles off the court.
“This is a totally different situation than any other situation that I’ve been in in my career, so I have zero experience with having the number one seed inside of a bubble during seeding games playing in August,” LeBron said. “This is all a learning experience for all of us and we’re going to take it day-by-day and continue to work on our habits, either on the floor, during the film session, when we’re able to get on the floor as well. But this is a totally different season, a totally different drastic situation for all of us, including myself.”
Teams have had differing practice times and differing game times throughout the bubble, due to the need to organize and plan given that all the teams are staying on the same campus. Their practice times have been different and for someone like LeBron, who is a creature of habit, that has to be frustrating.
James is always vocal that the best teacher in life is experience and right now, he’s experiencing something he never has before. While basketball is the same, the off-court “Adult AAU” environment is a lot different from the routine LeBron is accustomed to. Also, with the Lakers having clinched the No. 1 seed in the West and having nothing to gain with their remaining seeding games, boredom also might be setting in for the Lakers. At least until they get to the postseason.