Laker gamers seemed across the assembly room Saturday morning, double-checking with each other to guarantee that what they thought they only heard was what JJ Redick truly stated.
Did he, the Lakers coach, clearly amped up for his or her recreation with Denver later that night time, inform his gamers to go to battle and to be “willing to die on the court?”
He positive did.
“We said, ‘We’re going to war’ that night,” ahead Rui Hachimura stated.
After the Lakers beat Denver 123-100 in one in every of their greatest wins of the season, the admittedly “amped” Redick was nonetheless preaching depth.
“If we play that hard for the rest of the regular season, we’re going to be just fine,” Redick advised his crew postgame. “That should build your belief. It built my belief in what we can accomplish.”
The problem, in fact, is that the NBA schedule doesn’t at all times present huge video games like this one, the Lakers going through a crew that knocked them out of the playoffs the final two seasons.
Fortunately for the Lakers, there aren’t too many lulls heading their manner.
The crew begins a stretch of massive video games Tuesday by internet hosting the Dallas Mavericks, the primary assembly between the 2 franchises because the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic in a stunning commerce.
Coming off his greatest recreation as a Laker, the expectation is that Doncic and the crew will once more summon further power for the Mavericks.
“I think he’s going to be excited, but everybody in the locker room is excited,” Dorian Finney-Smith stated of Doncic. “We got his back. It’s gonna be a hard-fought game.”
The Lakers host Minnesota, the Clippers twice, New Orleans and New York following Tuesday’s recreation throughout a six-game homestand that may mainly lead the crew into the common season’s remaining month. Since an 0-2 Texas journey in early January, the Lakers have been distinctive in huge video games, with simply one in every of their 4 losses coming to a crew with a successful file, the Clippers. Since that loss, they’ve gained seven straight video games in opposition to groups presently with successful data.
“Just gotta stick together. We’ve been stepping up to the challenge, but that’s part of being a pro is playing every game the same, so we definitely gotta work on that,” Finney-Smith stated. “But we’ve been playing hard the last couple of weeks, we gotta keep it going. We just gotta stack wins, try to be the better team going into this last stretch of the season.”
Clearly, there will likely be loads of emotion Tuesday with Doncic seeing his former crew and the Lakers internet hosting Dallas with Max Christie and the injured Anthony Davis.
“I think he’ll be fine. I think he’ll be fine,” Redick stated of Doncic on Monday. “Every day that he’s been with us it’s becoming a little more normal. I’ve been there. The first time you play your old team, particularly this close in time duration, it’s going to be weird. But he’ll be OK.”
Lakers guard Luka Doncic drives to the basket in opposition to Hornets guard Elfrid Payton final week at Crypto.com Area.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Instances)
Saturday’s win in Denver started a stretch when the Lakers face 9 groups with successful data over an 11-game span. That’s loads of instances to ask a crew in the event that they’re keen to “die on the court.”
Redick, although, stated the Lakers have carried out a great job assembly the moments once they’ve come alongside and he’s not anxious about overloading anybody.
“There’s certainly a feel to it, of when to press and when not to press, Redick said. “I would say for me, personally, like watching Dallas’ stuff yesterday, watching some of their games. My kids had their semifinals and finals in a travel tournament that I was at. A lot of time watching basketball yesterday. And I couldn’t wait to come to work today. I can’t wait for tomorrow. And I’ll be excited for Wednesday. Like that’s just, for me personally, that’s just how I know I’m doing the right thing right now. And this is what I thought it would be. And my own sustainability, I’m not worried about that.
“I think as a coach, you just have to gauge the energy of the group and the vibe of the group and know when to press and when not to press. But, we’re preparing. Our guys recognize we’re in a dogfight for playoff seeding right now. We’re preparing for the playoffs and everything we do over the next 27 games.”
