How do you assess how a team is performing during the middle of the season?
While there’s no perfect way to review short-term results and extrapolate their meaning in the long term, Lakers head coach JJ Redick has been happy with how his team has been playing over the past six games, even if the team hasn’t won all those contests.
After LA’s loss to the Spurs
, Redick discussed the current state of the Lakers.“We’ve had so many of these games this season,” Redick said. “It almost feels normal. I’ll
coach that level of spirit and toughness and fight and togetherness and connectiveness, all that stuff. It was fantastic. We did a lot of really good things.
“Frankly, the last six games outside of maybe a quarter-and-a-half against Detroit have been really good and they’ve all been shorthanded. This is how we’re going to have to win and this is how we’re going to have to compete to be in games right now. That’s just the reality. The group has embraced that. I’ll go to battle with them.”
The Lakers have gone 4-2 over this six-game stretch. Despite playing without multiple starters in each game, they’ve found a way to keep stacking wins and find themselves as the No. 4 in the Western Conference.
This is a testament to Redick’s ability to get the most out of his guys and the Lakers’ buying into what he is selling. As long as they play hard, they’ll win basketball games.
Oh yeah, they also have a guy in Luka Dončić who is pretty good, and that helps. Luka is leading the NBA in scoring, and as he continues to grow as a leader, the team is moving at his competitive pace.
“The process has been great, I think, since Christmas,” Luka said postgame. “Outside of Detroit a little bit, I think we’ve been better. We’re working on ourselves and we’re getting better every game.”
Lakers fans should be happy to hear that both Redick and Luka are on the same page with how the team is doing. They are pleased with recent success, but also point out how they fell short in their blowout loss to the Pistons.
This team’s progress won’t always be linear. So far, the wins have stacked up while the losses against young athletic teams continue to accumulate.
However, more often than not, they win their games, and this six-game sample is a prime example.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
