The Los Angeles Lakers have just wrapped up a brutal stretch where they played six games in eight nights and head coach JJ Redick is glad to be on the other side of it.
Redick is no stranger to rough schedules, having played in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 NBA season but stated in his press conference after the 118-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks that it was easier to play back then than it is now.
“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,” Redick said. “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,” Redick added. “And just glad to be on the other side of it. Hopefully, going forward, we are healthy and can make a push here.”
The players now are bigger, stronger, and faster and the game itself is a lot more taxing on the body. Redick isn’t sure how he would have coped with it had he been coming into the league today.
Redick believes the way the game is played today doesn’t really allow players to play six games in eight nights and he is glad to be done with this stretch. Of course, the Lakers were only in this position because some of their January games were postponed due to the Los Angeles wildfires.
A schedule like this would have been bad enough, but the Lakers also ended up being in an injury crisis during it. The likes of LeBron James and Rui Hachimura did not play any of the six games while Luka Donic missed two of them. The Lakers still ended up going 3-3 and Redick feels good about that.
JJ Redick Would Love To Have Home-Court Advantage In The Playoffs
The Lakers are now 43-26 this season and are fourth in the Western Conference. Redick would prefer they don’t drop any further than that, as he would love to have home-court advantage in the playoffs.
“We would all love to have home-court advantage. It would be nice. Our group has been awesome at home so far. But again, you gotta play the next game and win the game in front of you. I’ve seen it too many times. The basketball gods, if you start messing around with things, they will punish you.”
The Lakers do have a good chance of holding on to that spot or even finishing higher, as they are getting healthier. They’ll take on the Chicago Bulls next at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday at 10:30 PM ET and the injury report for the game brought some good news.
Maxi Kleber is the only Laker ruled out for the game against the Bulls, with James and Hachimura being questionable. The two of them will be back on the court sooner rather than later.
