3x NBA champ bluntly casts doubt on LeBron James being Lakers’ savior in playoffs at age 40: "They need all hands on deck"

Danny Green gave his opinion on LeBron James and the Lakers' playoff odds following their victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night. Green, a former three-time NBA champion whose career lasted 15 seasons, joined the panel of "NBA Today" on ESPN to discuss the Lakers' offensive and defensive tradeoffs.

Green, who played with LeBron James on the Lakers squad that won the title in 2020, cast doubt over James' ability to expend so much energy on both ends of the floor in the postseason. He noted LeBron's age and the physical prowess of some of the top teams in the Western Conference as reasons why the Lakers will need a lot to go right to go on a run this year.

"I don't know if he can play the five position, at the age of 40, for a seven-game series," Green said.

Green isn't sure if he believes that LeBron James can be fully committed to the defensive end in a playoff environment, especially considering his importance to the Lakers' offense, their stronger side of the ball.

"They need to rely on their offense," Green said. "They need the big three to play well, they need to score, they need their bench, they need all hands on deck for them to have a chance against teams like OKC, Houston."

Green also noted that the Lakers got off lucky with some poor shooting from the Rockets in the first half of their Monday night matchup, something he doesn't believe would happen in a full playoff series.

The Lakers have seven games left to try to improve on fourth place in the West. If the season ended as it's set now, LA would host the Memphis Grizzlies in a first-round series.

LeBron James' "Mind the Game" podcast premieres first episode of new season

The highly anticipated return of LeBron James' podcast, "Mind the Game," has come at last for NBA fans. The long-form, sit-down show, where James discusses high-level basketball concepts with his co-host, was well received before abruptly being put on indefinite hiatus more than nine months ago.

Many fans didn't believe the podcast would continue, given that James' initial co-host, JJ Redick, accepted the job as the coach of the Lakers shortly after the NBA Finals concluded. The pair had released nine episodes before the project was put on the back burner.

It was a surprise announcement last week when "Mind the Game" uploaded a teaser for a second season on X and YouTube, revealing a new co-host. This time, James will sit across from former two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash. Tuesday marked the release of their first episode together, and episodes will continue to release on Tuesdays going forward.

In the episode James and Nash discuss a wide range of topics from defining what success looks like to them, speaking on the difficulties of midseason trades, and going over a myriad of NBA terms and concepts to help the audience digest the conversation. It's not currently known how long LeBron James and the production team behind "Mind the Game" plan to make season two.