One of the better perimeter defenders for the Los Angeles Lakers is Cam Reddish, who missed the last three games with left knee effusion, the same type of injury as Gabe Vincent.
Fortunately for Reddish, it seemed to not be as serious as Vincent’s case as he returned Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers after a three-game absence. The 24-year-old was eased into things, playing 21 minutes off the bench and looked re-energized, putting up 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.
It was clear that Reddish’s knee had been bothering him and he needed some time off to rehab. While the Lakers missed his defense, they need Reddish at 100% going forward and he admitted that he feels better and happy to be back out on the floor.
“It felt good. It felt real good to be back,” Reddish said. “It’s been what, three or four games? But it was fun to be back getting up and down with the guys. Happy to be back.”
This isn’t Reddish’s first time dealing with an injury as he had a groin issue previously, but getting a couple of days off has allowed him to get his pop back.
“It for sure felt like that. I think my knee bothering me helped my groin too so I was able to for sure get into the passing lanes a little bit better, get out and run a little bit better,” he said. “So overall I felt a lot better, hopefully my body can keep doing me well.”
The NBA’s 82-game season is a marathon that is taxing mentally and physically for players, so Reddish is aware he has to stay on top of things to make sure he is healthy for the foreseeable future.
“I have to stay on top of it, for sure, but it’s just feeling a lot better. In general, I just feel a lot better. Just a few days made a big difference so hopefully we can keep this going,” he said.
L.A. has been unable to build cohesion as players have been in and out of the lineup, but have found consistency as of late with Vincent being the only Laker out for an extended period.
For Reddish to feel much better physically is a sigh of relief and it was reassuring to see a bounce in his step against the Trail Blazers.
Cam Reddish open to criticism from Darvin Ham
As a lottery pick in 2019, Reddish is still trying to find his footing in the league and signed with the Lakers in hopes of finding it. In doing so, Reddish is open to criticism from head coach Darvin Ham to see how he can improve his game and help the team.
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