The NBA’s grind culture is very different from what the players and teams actually believe. We’re now at the stretch of the season where injuries escalate, and the schedules start to take a toll. While coaches like David Adelman and Steve Kerr are critical of the NBA’s participation mandates, JJ Redick is operating on his own terms.

The sophomore head coach has had to change his rotation multiple times to adapt to a series of injuries. That’s becoming increasingly unsustainable as the Lakers have back-to-back games this month. To cope, Redick announced a huge change in the team’s daily operations.

“We made the decision 12-13 days ago that we weren’t gonna do shootaround in the mornings anymore,” Redick told reporters at the Lakers practice.

LeBron James’ 41st birthday plays a huge factor in the decision.

“Part of that thought process was we have a 41-year-old who shouldn’t be on his feet twice a day. Let’s only rev his engine once. The other part of it was just reading personnel, like what are we really getting out of shootaround based on who’s on our team.”

By avoiding an NBA staple like the shootaround, Redick is protecting the durability of his star players, LeBron James and Luka Doncic.

The league’s player participation policy is considered largely ‘unfair’ by the modern basketball community for not considering player fatigue and aging veterans. Redick considered that with his team before arriving at the decision that shootarounds aren’t a major factor for the Lakers’ progress.

It’s not uncommon in LA.

In 2020 and 2021, the Lakers avoided shootarounds to minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure as well as protect LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

This time, the move is of course specifically designed to safeguard LeBron James on the other side of 40.

JJ Redick is managing the shorthanded Lakers’ mileage

The Lakers’ latest adjustment will accommodate a 41-year-old superstar with a 26-year-old high usage playmaker, especially in a team where the depth has been inconsistent. LeBron and Luka have largely carried the team since Austin Reaves has not been around to share the offensive load. Overworking them could make them injury-prone. And Doncic has had his fair share of scares.

The decision has come at a time when Bron made a clear declaration about his mileage.

He shared that he’s “TBD” for all back-to-backs since turning 41.

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Since starting his 23rd season in November, he’s not played in one game in a back-to-back set. Now, the Lakers have played one set and have two more coming up.

When James sat out the second set of a game against the Spurs, the diminished offense suffered a 107-91 beating. And this is right after Redick redesigned his rotation to ensure that at least Doncic and James are on the floor across four quarters. It showed that at some point, they have to incentivize James to play consecutive nights while he deals with nerve pain and an arthritic foot.

James is unbothered about the NBA’s 65-game rule.

He’s played in 19 games so far this season and is averaging over 33 minutes. It contrasts Denver’s frustration with the rule jeopardizing Nikola Jokic’s MVP eligibility.

Luka Doncic stands to benefit from that.

He is currently leading the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game and topping All-Star votes. The change allows him to preserve his energy for the high-intensity fourth quarters. The Lakers used to fumble the second half, but now Doncic’s closing of the final quarters has become the way to avoid that.

The Lakers play the Kings tomorrow, and the Hawks the day after. We’d have to wait and see if Redick sets a new standard of managing veteran players with his move.