Somewhat lost in all of the emotions and excitement of Luka Doncic dropping 45 points in his return to Dallas was the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the Mavericks ensured the team will make the playoffs. This was a goal that head coach JJ Redick has spoken about wanting to accomplish and the Lakers did just that.
The Lakers have found themselves in the Play-In Tournament in three of the last four seasons and, while that didn’t stop them from making a Western Conference Finals run two years ago, getting some rest before the playoffs and hopefully home-court advantage would be ideal for Redick’s squad.
The Lakers have the opportunity to do just that as they need just one win in their last two games to lock in as the 3-seed in the West and while Redick does view avoiding the Play-In as an accomplishment in his first season as a coach, he remains focused on clinching that third seed, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I think it’s an accomplishment, truthfully it is if you look at the Western Conference this year. It’s an accomplishment to be in the playoffs, but we want the third seed. And we have two more cracks to guarantee that spot. For me as a coach, I don’t know. I’m thinking about the third seed, to be honest with you. It’s a cool moment to share when we found out with the staff, but we want more.”
Because the Western Conference is so tight, it still remains anyone’s guess as to who the Lakers might play in the first round of the playoffs. But locking the 3-seed and home-court advantage is extremely important to Redick and the Lakers, and for good reason.
The Lakers have the second-best home record in the Western Conference, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder, and having a potential Game 7 inside the Crypto.com Arena would be huge.
There are so many good teams in the West and these playoffs will be all about matchups. But Redick and the Lakers will take any advantages they can get so a week off and home-court is the goal. A win over either the Houston Rockets or Portland Trail Blazers is all they need to make it a reality, capping off an exceptional first regular season for Redick at the helm.
Lakers coach JJ Redick impressed by Luka Doncic’s performance in return to Dallas
The Lakers’ accomplishment was important, but the big story was still Luka Doncic returning to Dallas for the first time and putting on an absolutely outstanding performance in their win over the Mavericks.
JJ Redick was extremely impressed by Doncic’s performance, calling it ‘super-human’ to go through all of those emotions and then putting it to the side to lead the Lakers to a win.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!