Because he’s a basketball sicko, JJ Redick did not sleep ahead of the Lakers game against the Nuggets on Saturday.
While they may have wanted to treat it as any other regular game in the past, the Lakers’ trip to Denver on Saturday was a big game. Previous regimes might not have approached it as such, but JJ Redick and his staff did.
The result was a huge win that felt like a big momentum swing for the Lakers. After the game, while complimenting his team on their performance, Redick revealed just how seriously he took the game.
“I thought our guys’ conviction to execute a gameplan and stick with that gameplan was excellent,” Redick said. “I told the group this. There are certain moments throughout the season you get up for. I pretty much haven’t slept since we walked off the court in Portland. I put a lot of time into this game. Our staff spent a lot of time on this game.
“I envisioned our guys playing hard. They played harder than I could have envisioned. They battled tonight. Those are the two things that stood out.”
While it might be clowned by opposing fans or those on social media, certain regular season games should and do mean more. Considering the Lakers’ history with the Nuggets, this very much fit that bill.
Any season, there are a number of regular season games that have more meaning to them and a win feels much more than a single tick in the win column. Winning that game can be a huge boost throughout the season.
This was one of those games and it’s nice to not only see the Lakers win one, but the head coach treat it as such. JJ is a basketball sicko who experienced these types of games in the NBA. He knows what this could mean.
Hopefully, this will be a launching pad for this version of the Lakers as they enter the final stretch of the season. And also hopefully JJ can get some sleep now, too.
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.