The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to the second round of the playoffs as LeBron James led the team to a Game 6 win over the Houston Rockets, closing out their first-round series on May 3.
The outcome allows the Lakers additional rest before facing the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, with their next series set to begin Tuesday. The league scheduled a break for both teams because two Eastern Conference first-round Game 7s are taking place on Sunday.
James acknowledged this scheduling benefit and thanked RJ Barrett, whose game-winning shot forced a Game 7 between the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers. This result gave the Lakers extra days off. “LeBron said it himself… them rims different RJ just proved it again,” read a message from the Toronto Raptors’ official account following Barrett’s shot.
This development is notable because James previously played for Cleveland and had several memorable playoff battles against Toronto. Now, he is pleased that Toronto’s win has provided his current team with more time to recover before facing Oklahoma City. The added rest is especially significant for James, who at age 41 has emphasized how important recovery time is at this stage in his career.
James also said he plans to use his time off playing golf and recharging mentally ahead of their next challenge.
Reflecting on his approach late in his career, James told reporters in Houston after Game 6: “At this stage of my career, I think I’ve talked about just living in the moment a little bit more and being OK with celebrating the small victories.” He continued: “I think we should be proud of the way we played, the way we handled this. This is our first time in a playoff series together as a unit and obviously being without our MVP candidate and without AR for the first four games, we had some obstacles obviously… And I know they were out a couple of their guys as well. But I thought we answered the call, I thought we answered the challenge. For them to allow me to lead them, that means a lot to me.”
As James continues his postseason run with Los Angeles, observers will watch how extra rest might impact both him and his teammates when they face Oklahoma City.
