One thing that has been apparent in watching the Los Angeles Lakers has been the fight they have shown on a nightly basis and the excellent chemistry they have. This team seems to genuinely enjoy playing together and it shows as head coach JJ Redick has this team off to an excellent start despite dealing with a ton of injuries.
Thw Lakers now sit at 7-2 to start this season, the second-best record in the West behind only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves have gotten the most attention, but so many others have had their moments as well, including Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura and Nick Smith Jr. to name a few.
And regardless of who is starring on that night, the rest of the team is cheering and supporting them as these Lakers are a very close group. And Redick noted that this was a priority coming into the season and makes for a very fun team to coach.
“It doesn’t always work this way, but sometimes the things you emphasize and the things that you make a daily priority, becomes your team, and that doesn’t always happen, but that was a priority for us coming into this season,” Redick said after Wednesday night’s victory over the San Antonio Spurs. “And whether it’s been some off-court activities, the Pecha Kucha, we’re just constantly encouraging and empowering our guys to get connected.
“I believe that if you’re connected off the floor, you’re connected on the floor. So you need buy-in to that. So it’s not, I’m not trying to take credit for my staff here. It’s the guys on the team, they’re bought into that, and they’re bought into being a group, a together group, and it’s fun to coach. It’s really, it’s awesome.”
There have been plenty of teams that are extremely talented on paper, but not connected as a group and they greatly underperform. No one would say this Lakers roster is as talented as teams such as the Thunder or Houston Rockets from top to bottom, but their chemistry is excellent and they play hard every single night.
Credit should go to everyone as Redick and this coaching staff have been pushing this since training camp, but this team has also bought into it which is never a guarantee. It all adds up to a Lakers team that is proving themselves to be one of the best in the league and one to be taken seriously as title contenders.
Lakers’ LeBron James cleared for contact
For as good as the Lakers have been, they could soon be getting even better as LeBron James could be nearing his season debut after being cleared for contact with the next step in his recovery being 5-on-5 play.
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