The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns on Friday to guarantee a top-four spot in the Western Conference playoffs. And head coach JJ Redick wanted to make sure that he was proving the doubters wrong in doing so.
It’s been a dramatic year in Tinseltown. The future status of LeBron James looks uncertain. Reports emerged about turmoil within the Buss family in ownership. And Luka Dončić has had to deal with trials both on and off the court.
But through it all, the Lakers were able to steady the ship and exceed the 50-win mark. And in his postgame press conference, Redick took the opportunity to perform a victory lap over anyone who doubted his team coming into the season.
“I would say I’m extremely proud of our team and our players and our coaches for dealing with the entire NBA season. I think that for maybe one or two teams a year, they don’t have a lot of ups and downs and the roller coaster is fairly flat. But for most every team in the NBA, your ability to bounce back from failure is the key to the aggregation of what your season is and you hope you can win 50-plus games and you hope you can get home court in the first round and be a top seed,” Redick said.
“I know none of you guys had us in the top four to start the season. That’s just the reality. Most people had us as a play-in team or even worse. So we’ve had to manage the expectations of the Lakers and also the negativity that just naturally surrounds every loss and I think our group has managed that well”
Does JJ Redick have a case that the media doubted the Lakers? Yes and no. Before the season, they were 10th in the ESPN NBA power rankings. At CBS Sports, they were ranked in the 11th position. Currently, the Lakers have the 7th best record in the NBA.
So while the Lakers might have reasonably exceeded expectations in securing a top-four slot in the notoriously difficult Western Conference, it’s also fair to ask whether or not they are legitimate title contenders. It’s fair to say that any Lakers fan is not going to be satisfied with top-four finishes and want banners hung in Crypto.com Arena for that accomplishment.
With Luka’s status an unknown due to injury, it could be a quick playoff exit for Redick’s team as the Lakers are distant +9000 underdogs to win the west. In that case, we might see another side of the Lakers coach.
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