The Los Angeles Lakers knew there were going to be some bumps along the way as they faced a stretch of six games in eight nights. It was exacerbated when LeBron James suffered a groin injury just before the stretch began, leading head coach JJ Redick to have to get creative with his lineups while also playing nearly every night.
It was supposed to be a five-game stretch over eight nights, but the rescheduled San Antonio Spurs game from the L.A. fires in early January was placed right in the middle of it. The stretch also included two games against the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers started the stretch 0-2, but won three straight before effectively conceding the final game against the Bucks on Thursday night to finish the stretch 3-3. L.A. was second in the Western Conference when the six games began, and now are fourth, but only one game back in the loss column of the red-hot Houston Rockets.
Redick, who had to put together some interesting lineups with all the injuries and rest during this stretch, gave his reaction to going 3-3 in eight nights.
“You have to look at it big picture and feel good that you go 3-3 in this stretch,” Redick said. “And it was going to be tough, no matter what, with the added game made it harder. I don’t think the game that exists today in the NBA and the modern NBA player is what I wouldn’t be either if this was what I came up in and this was the game that I had to play every night. It’s different than when I first started.
“It’s just, you’re not built to play six games in eight nights. The game doesn’t allow you to play six games in eight nights. It’s just impossible. That’s why we, I don’t think, have four and five anymore if they are. I mean, I lived through the lockout year. I somehow didn’t miss a game till the very end because we had secured our seed. There was a road game in Memphis. Stan [Van Gundy] gave me the option, do you want to play all 66? Normally, I would be like, yeah, I want to play. But then I was like, fuck no, dude. I just played 65 games in 92 days. Like, this is impossible.
“And it was an easier game to play then because there wasn’t as much movement, and there wasn’t as much spacing, and you didn’t have to cover as much of the court. It’s what our guys just went through. It’s difficult. And the old heads are going to talk about how physical it was in the 80s and 90s, and that’s fine, but the level of physicality in our game and the way that the court has to be covered and all the movement, it’s tough. And just glad to be on the other side of it. Hopefully, going forward, we are healthy and can make a push here.”
The Lakers had four different starting lineups in the six games, and their healthiest starting lineup still was missing both LeBron and Rui Hachimura. So to survive this stretch with three wins and still firmly in the fight for the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference is a victory.
And now, the Lakers can reset as they face a lighter stretch of schedule over the next week before some important games against Western Conference Playoff opponents.
JJ Redick: Lakers miss LeBron James on defense
The Lakers are hopeful to get LeBron James back in the lineup soon, and one of the biggest reasons — according to JJ Redick — is the way he approaches defense.
Redick believes the Lakers are missing LeBron’s communication and voice on the defense end. Without him, L.A. seems as though they’ve had a huge uptick in defensive breakdowns.
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