After getting a much-needed win against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers get to enjoy an extended break.
The Lakers have four days of rest and practice before taking on the Detroit Pistons on Friday. Los Angeles can surely use some time off to recalibrate and get players like LeBron James more time to rehab.
Head coach Darvin Ham laid out the plan over the mini break which includes individual workouts before their normal film and practice sessions.
“We’ll take tomorrow off,” Ham said after the win on Sunday night. “Tuesday will be what we call a combo day where we bring guys in individually where we bring guys in to get what they need out of the weight room, work a little with our coaches and at the end of those individual workouts we’ll bring them all together and touch on the defensive script a little bit. Short and sweet and they’ll all be timed out and then get right back to practice and film on Wednesday and Thursday before getting ready for Detroit on Friday.
“But again, focusing on us and how can we get better, look at this film from this game, clips from previous games, do a compare and contrast, and just keep building. Keep building. We have 69 games left now, there’s more than enough time and what I saw today and based off what the last couple of days have been like, it’s super duper encouraging. I think guys are starting to realize what we can do when we’re all on the same page and pulling in the same direction.”
For a new head coach like Ham, having more time to prepare his players should only benefit them before their next set of games. The added rest is also a major plus because besides James the Lakers are waiting for Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schroder to make their anticipated 2022-23 season debuts.
Los Angeles is still facing an uphill climb to get back into the playoff rest, so hopefully the extra time off does wonders for them.
Lonnie Walker IV looking forward to getting reinforcements back after break
While having key guys out has thinned out the rotation, Lonnie Walker IV has taken full advantage of the opportunity to showcase what he can do. Walker’s athleticism and scoring has been a welcomed development for the team, but even he’s looking forward to getting some of his teammates back after the break.
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