James' fitness problems? Asked for leave of absence from the team and missed training, and was exhausted many times and asked to be replaced

On December 12, Beijing time, according to ESPN, the Lakers arranged a full team practice today, and only one important person was absent: LeBron James.

"LeBron is not on the team at the moment," Lakers coach Redick said after practice, "and he was absent for personal reasons and took time off." ”

James missed the last game against the Trail Blazers with left foot pain. It was the first game James missed all season at the soon-to-be-40 age.

Because the schedule provides a break — the Lakers only have two games in 10 days, from Dec. 10 to 19 — Redick gave the team a rest on Tuesday and designated Wednesday as an optional "do what you need to do" day.

Redick had a one-on-one meeting with many of the Lakers' players on Wednesday, but the coach said James was not in attendance. Asked about the upcoming break, Redick made it clear that he would give the players the freedom to use the time they see fit.

"Heck, if somebody wants to go to Santa Barbara for a couple of nights to chill out, that's fine," Redick said after the game against the Trail Blazers, "and it's a quarter of the way through the season." ”

Redick added that James is currently "taking some time off" and he doesn't know if James will return to the team for the next game on the road against the Timberwolves.

Lakers backup center Koloko said the team misses James, but he is not worried that James will fall behind the team's plans because of his absence.

"I mean, we know he already knows everything," Koloko said, "he's going to be back, he's still like that." He'll give everything on the pitch.

"We just have to do our part and get better so that when he comes back, he can look at us and say, 'Oh yes, they're really trying,' and he's not there. But we knew he would come back and pick it all up. He has been playing in the NBA for a long time. ”

So far this season, James is averaging 23 points, 8 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game while shooting 49.5% from the field (35.9% from three-point range). Redick said he has been in close communication with James and his longtime athletic trainer Mike Mansias about how to manage the four-time MVP's workload as he turns 40th at the end of the month.

“During the game, he asked for a substitution several times because he was exhausted,Reddick said. For us, we have to realise that as the games went on and on, we played a lot of minutes and after he had a foot injury, it felt like it was time to rest him. ”

Redick added that Reaves, who has missed the last five games with a left pelvic injury, returned to training on Wednesday and was able to attend most of training with his team-mates.

"I wouldn't say Reeves was the full participant," Redick said. "We just want to pay attention to his pain tolerance. But he was involved in all the 5-on-5 games and breakdown drills. "James and Reaves are both in a state to watch on a daily basis.