How the hiatus affects all 30 NBA teams

Los Angeles Lakers: Stealing precious time from LeBron’s prime

It feels premature to fret over LeBron James’ dwindling prime. At age 35, in his 17th NBA season, the King is averaging an absurd 25.7 points, 10.6 assists (a career- and league-best) and 7.6 rebounds per game. His Los Angeles Lakers are comfortably ahead in the race for the 1-seed out West, and after back-to-back wins over the two main threats to his individual crown and his team’s quest to be the best in the NBA, he had conjured up MVP chatter out of nowhere.

To sum up: LeBron isn’t in his twilight just yet.

With that being said, every month that passes pushes even a cyborg like LeBron closer to the precipice, with Father Time waiting to give him one final nudge over the edge. A couple months off will allow LeBron to recharge, which is a scary thought considering what he was doing 60 games into the season, but it also dulls the MVP buzz and slows his team’s momentum after emerging victorious over the Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks.

This won’t be a big deal if an energized and well-rested LeBron rips through the playoffs and brings the Lakers another title in homage to the late Kobe Bryant, but boy has this franchise been a lot emotionally and mentally over the past few months. Stealing precious time from LeBron’s remaining prime is a yet another burden this team will have to handle this year and beyond.