Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James isn’t fully healthy despite returning to the court in Sunday’s 116-110 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

James missed the Lakers’ previous two games due to persistent foot pain. After Sunday’s contest, he told reporters that the problem “is not behind me yet” and that he needs to continue to address it.

“It’s an everyday thing,” he said. “It took the last couple of years, but I was able to do a lot of great things to not only calm that down, but I got kneed in the quadriceps by (Anthony Davis) in the Atlanta game at the end of regulation time.” Back up now 100 percent. It was probably pretty painful three days ago, but I’m managing to get back to 100 percent. This was great, allowing me to achieve many other elements as well. “

James had experienced fluctuations in his offensive performance in the two weeks prior to his absence, including a four-game stretch in which he went 0-for-19 on three-point attempts.

Redick said Wednesday that in the first 23 games of the season, James “asked for a substitution a couple of times because he was gassed.”

“For us, we have to be clear as we play more and more games, just the cumulative effect that playing a lot of minutes brings, and on Sunday it felt like it was a good opportunity for him to get some rest, because he hit his foot,” Redick said Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

James, who turns 40 later this month, told reporters after a loss to the Wolves on Dec. 2 that he had “discussed” a possible rest plan with the Lakers. His week off could be part of the franchise’s plan to ensure he is healthy and available for a hopeful postseason berth in the spring.

It will be a constant challenge for Redick to monitor James’ protocols. While he remains Los Angeles’ best player, he simply can’t handle the type of workload everyone expects of him at this stage of his career.