JJ Redick: Lakers Focus Shifts to Rockets Ahead of First-Round Series
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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick said the team will turn its full attention to the Houston Rockets after securing a 53-29 record and the No. 4 seed in the 2026 NBA playoffs.
Los Angeles finished the regular season on Sunday needing both a victory and a Denver Nuggets loss to reach the third seed. The Lakers handled the Utah Jazz, but Denver’s win over the San Antonio Spurs locked L.A. into fourth place and a first-round matchup with Houston.
Redick on postseason preparation
“We’ve spent the last six weeks building toward the playoffs,” Redick said after the Jazz game. “Whether we landed at three, four, five, six—there are no easy matchups. Houston is a really good basketball team, and we’re going to prepare, fight and try to win the series.”
The coach added that the staff will focus on getting players “in a great frame of mind, great physical shape” during the four to five days before the series opens.
Season series and injury concerns
The Lakers took the regular-season series against Houston 2-1, but both wins featured Luka Dončić as the primary offensive option. Dončić and Austin Reaves remain sidelined, leaving LeBron James to shoulder a larger scoring and play-making role.
Redick has leaned on Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard to ease the creative load on James, yet the Rockets’ aggressive perimeter defense is expected to challenge Los Angeles’ ball-handlers.
Houston’s offensive struggles without Durant
While Houston’s defense ranks among the league’s most physical, the Rockets have struggled to generate consistent offense when Kevin Durant sits. The Lakers exploited that weakness in their two victories, a trend the coaching staff will monitor as the best-of-seven series begins.
Pride in overcoming adversity
Redick praised his roster for maintaining home-court advantage in spite of long-term injuries to two of the team’s premier shot-creators. “It wasn’t always pretty,” he noted, “but our guys found a way.”
The opening game of the Lakers-Rockets series is expected later this week at Crypto.com Arena.
Source: LakersNation.com
