Why Bill Simmons thinks Lakers star LeBron James’ recent injury absence was so ‘timely’

Recently, the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their fifth straight win with an overtime home victory over the Denver Nuggets. This was an epic contest that featured a game-tying shot from Austin Reaves in regulation, and a game-winning jumper from Luka Doncic in the final seconds of the extra period.

The Lakers had Doncic, Reaves, and LeBron James all on the floor on Saturday, which has been somewhat of a rarity this season. Recently, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons broke down why he believes that James’ multi-game absence of a couple weeks ago was actually a positive thing for Los Angeles.

“They had a timely LeBron injury, as weird as that sounds. He only left for a couple of games. It reset the calibration, and he came back, and it’s been interesting to watch him reinvent himself as this basically third option. Can I rebound? Make some hustle plays?” said Simmons, per The Ringer on X, formerly Twitter.

Indeed, many have noticed that James has appeared more willing to take a backseat to both Doncic and Reaves since his return from injury last week, and so far, the results have been hard to argue with.

When all three stars are on the floor, there have been concerns that their skillsets might cancel one another out, with Reaves not getting the on-ball reps he needs to be the best version of himself, and little to no ball movement existing within the offense.

However, if James remains committed to being more of a “glue guy” on offense who can fill in gaps and make plays for himself when needed, it could be the missing ingredient to maximize an objectively flawed Lakers roster down the stretch of the year.

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