According to reports, LeBron James will not be in the lineup on Saturday as the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Detroit Pistons.
Lakers‘ LeBron James will sit tonight against Detroit due to load management.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 15, 2019
The Lakers are on the second night of a back-to-back following their loss in Toronto. They also travel to New York to play the Knicks on Sunday, making it three games in four days for the Lakers.
GAME PREVIEW: LeBron James visits Madison Square Garden
With the Lakers comfortably out of playoff contention, the team recently announced that they would monitor James' minutes accordingly, limiting his time to around 30 minutes while considering back-to-backs an opportunity to sit out for load management when necessary.
James missed 17 consecutive games earlier this season after suffering a strained groin against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas. The matchup with Detroit will be his 19th missed game of the season. The Lakers have gone 6-12 in games without the four-time MVP this season. Regardless of how often he plays moving forward, this will be the most games he's missed in any of his 16 seasons in the NBA.
The team will also be without Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, who are both out for the remainder of the season.
Looking forward, the Lakers have a difficult remaining schedule as they still must play at both Milwaukee and Utah. They also finish the season with five straight games against likely Western Conference playoff teams.
As it stands now, the Lakers have the NBA's 11th-worst overall record. The NBA Draft Lottery is scheduled for May 15.