It is virtually assured that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to lose in the Western Conference semifinals to the Oklahoma City Thunder — it is just a matter of whether it will be a four-game sweep or if the Lakers will be able to steal one or even two games.
Fans have already started assessing the season as a whole for the Lakers and what the team needs to do this offseason to become a truly championship-caliber squad next season. It is difficult to assess whether Los Angeles has gotten the most out of its roster, given the injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves that torpedoed their season.
Coach JJ Redick was asked after the team’s 131-108 loss in Game 3 whether being down 3-0 in the series to the Thunder changes his opinion of his group this season. He said it doesn’t, and he gave an explanation of why he feels that way.
“I think, again, coaching is about two things: it’s about maximizing the group, and then it’s, do people enjoy coming to work? And when you set out on any season, that’s your goal.
“I don’t know about the second one because, frankly, every guy is going to go through adversity during the season, whether it’s playing time or feeling like they’re not getting plays called, whatever it may be. I think that second question probably changes by the day.
“The first question: can you maximize the group? I think we’ve done that this year. I’m not saying that as a credit to the staff. It’s a credit to everybody in the building. And we’ve put ourselves in position in three of these games that we were in the mix in the second half, and there’s a reason they’re the world champions, there’s a reason they’re the deepest team in basketball. And that’s why they win. So, I wish we weren’t in this hole. We’re going to try to be better, and we’re going to try to win the game tomorrow and extend the series.”
After starting the season 15-4, despite not having LeBron James for their first 14 games due to sciatica, the Lakers won exactly half of their combined games in December, January and February. But just as the season was looking like a festering disappointment, they rolled off 16 wins in 18 games until Doncic and Reaves both got hurt on April 2.
Los Angeles won 53 games and claimed the fourth seed in the Western Conference before upsetting the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. If it had been relatively healthy all season long, it likely would’ve won a few more games and finished third, which would’ve allowed it to avoid the Thunder until the Western Conference finals.
Injuries are beyond anyone’s control, and the simple fact is that the Lakers have been seriously outmatched in terms of sheer talent against the Thunder. But there is some hope for the immediate future when one looks at how they did in March and even April, especially given how undermanned they were in April.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick feels Lakers have ‘maximized’ their roster this season
Reporting by Robert Marvi, LeBron Wire / LeBron Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
