Redick: March Stretch Gives Lakers Chance to Measure Themselves
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LOS ANGELES — Head coach JJ Redick believes the Los Angeles Lakers’ upcoming slate offers a timely opportunity to validate their postseason hopes against top-tier opponents.
Los Angeles enters the final month of the regular season at 38-25 but owns a 14-19 mark against teams above .500. In contrast, the club is 24-6 versus losing teams. Redick acknowledged the discrepancy after Thursday’s 111-104 defeat to the Denver Nuggets and Friday’s comfortable win over an injury-depleted Indiana Pacers squad.
“We have a lot of opportunities over the next 10 games to win some of those [against quality teams],” Redick said. “I’m confident we’re gonna find it. How we’re gonna find it, that’s where you gotta figure it out on a daily basis sometimes.”
The March schedule features matchups with the New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, another meeting with Denver, two contests against the Houston Rockets, and games against the Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers. With Western Conference seeding still fluid, any of those opponents could surface in the first round of the playoffs.
Despite the inconsistency, a 12-7 finish would deliver 50 wins, matching Redick’s total from his debut season on the Lakers’ bench. Achieving that benchmark would require improved performances against the league’s upper echelon, beginning immediately.
Redick, a recent arrival to coaching, said he remains unfazed by the constant scrutiny surrounding the franchise. “If you’re with the Lakers, the noise is always there,” he noted, adding that he chooses to embrace the spotlight rather than avoid it.
Source: LakersNation.com
