Coach JJ Redick says the Los Angeles Lakers must find a way to win without LeBron James, but even he felt the absence of his injured superstar in an NBA season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors.
"It's hard to forget about LeBron," Redick said. "The reality is, when you're focused on the group that you have, you've got to make the group work.
"I'll be honest with you, I did have one moment in the first half when we had a few possessions when we couldn't score against the zone (defense) and I thought 'It'd be great to have LeBron.'"
Instead James was sitting courtside, besuited and bespectacled and largely impassive as he continues to recover from a flareup of sciatica.
Entering an unprecedented 23rd NBA campaign, it was the first time in his career that the NBA's all-time leadin