While the Los Angeles Lakers are looking to bounce back from back-to-back losses, the organization and the city are keeping an eye out on the current wildfires in the area.
The Pacific Palisades fire has been the most destructive, burning down most of the area and leaving people like head coach JJ Redick without a home. Redick was emotional discussing the devastation that occurred earlier this week, noting he and his family were forced to evacuate.
The NBA and the Lakers agreed to postpone their Thursday night game against the Charlotte Hornets, though it has yet to be officially rescheduled. While the wildfires continue to rage on, Redick said he would still like to play on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs. “I think I have a pretty strong ability to compartmentalize things,” Redick said. “Tried to get out of that with therapy but the therapist didn’t do his job so still compartmentalizing.
“Being here, for me, was great because it gave me something to look forward to, honestly. Being around the guys and coaching, I told them this, we’re prepared for whatever tomorrow. We obviously are gonna work with the NBA, the Spurs, the city and do what’s right. I want to play tomorrow. I want to coach tomorrow. I want these guys to play tomorrow. And if we can play, we’ll play. I do believe that for everybody that has been impacted by this, there is a grieving process. There is a healing process. I can only speak for myself, part of my healing and grieving process is being here with these guys and coaching basketball.”
It might seem crazy on paper that Redick would want to play a basketball game after going through what he has the past few days, but it could be the respite and break from the fires that he and the organization need.
As of now, there have been no discussions regarding potentially postponing the Spurs game and things can change quickly depending how the situation evolves in the next day. For now, Redick and the Lakers must prepare as if they’ll hit the floor on Saturday night.
Lakers’ Magic Johnson and LeBron James offer prayers amid California wildfires
There aren’t enough words to describe how terrible the wildfire situation in the greater Los Angeles area has been. Amid the fires continuing to rage on, Lakers legends Magic Johnson and LeBron James offered their prayers for all those affected.
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