Detroit — The Lakers are sticking to the plan.
After falling out of the playoff picture in the Western Conference, the Lakers announced that they would reduce LeBron James’ playing time. The plan was that he wouldn’t play in back-to-back games and try to stay around 32 minutes per game.
Following Thursday night’s loss at Toronto — in which James played 32 minutes — the Lakers are holding him out of Friday night’s matchup against the Pistons, citing “load management.”
It’s another break for the Pistons, who didn’t face James in the first meeting, a 113-100 Detroit loss in Los Angeles on Jan.