Head Coach JJ Redick Reveals Lakers top star LeBron James could miss the Season
Two Lakers saved the USA Men’s Basketball gold medal streak in Paris. LeBron James set the tone for Team USA, the tournament MVP who led the team in assists and rebounds per game while finishing second in scoring – he made wise decision after smart move with the ball in his hands.
Anthony Davis was the USA’s finest and most consistent big man on both ends of the court during the Paris Olympics; he was second on the team in rebounding and a defensive force in the paint when needed.
Redick confronts the same issue that Darvin Ham did before him (and any coach who has taken over the Lakers): keeping the Lakers’ top combination rested, fresh, and healthy while winning enough games to secure a solid postseason spot.
Where is the boundary between winning games in December and January and exhausting players? The question has never been, “Can LeBron/AD crank it up for a stretch of games?” We witnessed it in last year’s In-Season Tournament, which the Lakers won. We witnessed it at the Paris Olympics. However, it’s one thing to do it in five international games with basically no travel and playing less than 25 minutes a night; it’s another thing entirely to play closer to 30 minutes a night.
Redick will take a lot of the blame or credit for whatever happens with the Lakers this season, but more of it should go to the front management that hired him. GM Rob Pelinka and company re-signed LeBron James and drafted Dalton Knecht, but the Lakers are mostly sticking with the roster that won 47 games last season (eighth seed, jumped to seventh after the play-in) and are hoping for better role player health (Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent) and that Redick can lead the team forward in a stacked Western Conference.
Is it enough if the Lakers remain the same – a good team that finishes somewhere between the 6th and 10th seeds? Is this taking advantage of LeBron’s remaining years?