JJ Redick understands the Los Angeles Lakers have a target on their backs. Out of the top six in the Western Conference, the major injuries in Los Angeles made them the team who looked ripe for the picking in a potential matchup. Redick will not allow his team to go down that easily.
After the Lakers' convincing 131-107 win over the Utah Jazz in the regular season finale, the second-year coach was asked about his thoughts on the looming four-five matchup with the Houston Rockets. Redick was candid with what he shared in front of the media.
"We're going to prepare, and we're going to fight. We're going to go try to win the series. Going into today, we told the team it's not about the opponent, it's about us. Now, it is about the opponent."
Redick added that he and the Lakers coaching staff were going to do everything they can to get the players ready both from a mental and physical standpoint in the lead-up to Game 1 on Saturday. The head coach wants his guys to be prepared for the challenge.
JJ Redick is gearing up the Lakers for a hard-fought Rockets series
Realistically, the Lakers were going to be underdogs in any potential series they got in the first round without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Those two were a massive part of their team all year, and their absences cannot simply be chalked up to an afterthought.
The good news for the Lakers is they dodged the Denver Nuggets. If there was one team from the squads seeded three through six they did not want to face, that would have been it.
The Rockets will still be most people's favorite here, but they are manageable in the hunt of a potential upset. Houston has been a flawed team all year.
For the Lakers, the plan does not need to be overly complicated here. To Redick's point, fight hard and push the Rockets as hard as you can for the majority of the game with LeBron James leading the way. If it's a close game entering crunch time, you have a shot.
The Rockets are 22-23 this season in games defined as clutch by the NBA. The Lakers led the league at 22-8 by comparison.
Granted, a lot of that was aided by Doncic and Reaves. However, the Lakers are still left with one of the greatest basketball minds ever in LeBron. They should get their puncher's chance in those moments.
If Los Angeles wants to give their stars an opportunity to return for the second round, that is how they do it.