Everything just feels so good when you are winning. The Los Angeles Lakers had a long taste of that during their nine-game streak. Even after it disappeared following a disappointing 113-110 loss to the shorthanded Detroit Pistons on Monday, JJ Redick did not want his guys to lose sight of the bigger picture. The Lakers coach was asked for the message heading into the last 10 games.
"I believe that we're a good basketball team. I thought we could be a good basketball team the entire season. ... We have to continue to play together and all that stuff. It is remarkable to me, and this is, again, not an excuse, but our winning streak has also coincided with us being healthy."
On Monday, there was no Marcus Smart or Rui Hachimura for the Lakers, two key members of the rotation. Redick pointed out that much. As a result, there was no running the table for the rest of this month. Those dreams were dashed.
However, to Redick's point, the hopes of being a good basketball team should be unaffected by one loss. In a "what have you done for me lately" league like the NBA, plenty of talk will immediately be about questioning who the Lakers are following the loss. They should already know that.
Lakers' loss to Pistons should not dissuade optimism in Los Angeles
Some NBA teams are built much better to withstand injuries to key contributors. The Lakers are not one of those groups. That is why the absences of Smart and Hachimura loom so large in the loss.
Smart, in particular, has been huge at spearheading the Lakers' transformation on the defensive end. Without the former Defensive Player of the Year available, Los Angeles is just not up to the same caliber.
They found their footing in the second half, but the 42-point second quarter for the Pistons was a clear sign of the Lakers missing their veteran leader on the back end. It is not an excuse for the loss, like Redick said, but it is an understandable explanation.
After the main part of his message, the second-year coach added more about how important having complementary basketball being played is. Missing a guy or two can suddenly take away crucial components that a team relies on. Sometimes, you can overcome that — not here.
The good news will naturally be that no one really expects either of these ailments to be long-term. The Lakers will hope to have a clean injury report again in no time.
When they do, they know what they are capable of with all the right guys available. With a handful of games remaining until postseason basketball, Redick reminding everyone of that should inspire confidence.