JJ Redick on Lakers' preparation for playoff series versus Rockets
· Yahoo Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers had the day off on Monday following their regular-season finale, which was a 131-107 win over the Utah Jazz. On Tuesday, they got back to work in advance of the start of their first-round playoff series versus the Houston Rockets.
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Coach JJ Redick reiterated that Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, who have a strained hamstring and oblique, respectively, are out "indefinitely." That will put lots of pressure on LeBron James to not only manufacture lots of points but also to run L.A.'s offense. But Redick said that the team will look to diversify its offensive attack, per ESPN.
"I do think we have other options [other than] just him having the ball and going against a set defense every single possession," Redick said. "We'll look to mix in different actions depending on their lineups and their coverages."
Last year, the Lakers faced the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. They came out and promptly got routed in Game 1, 117-95, and they clearly weren't prepared for the higher levels of physicality, defense and intensity that define the NBA playoffs. Redick feels Tuesday's practice went well, especially in certain areas.
"We wanted to reach certain thresholds, and we did," Redick said, referring to tracking data monitoring his players loads, accelerations and jumps during the session. "Thought the guys had a very business-like, focused approach to today's practice."
As was the case versus Minnesota a year ago, rebounding will be a big concern. The Rockets were first in total rebounding and offensive rebounding percentage and third in second-chance points during the regular season. Redick readily acknowledged how much of a problem this could be.
"Taking care of the basketball and boxing out, that's the series," Redick said. "Scheme, personnel, obviously important, but if we don't take care of the ball and we don't box out, we're not going to win the series."
Game 1 between the Lakers and Rockets will be this Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Pacific time at Crypto.com Arena.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick on Lakers' preparation for playoff series versus Rockets