JJ Redick: Lakers can play their best basketball after All-Star break
The long NBA All-Star break is over, and the Los Angeles Lakers will take the court on Friday against a Los Angeles Clippers team that has been surging for the last two months. They will look to improve on their 33-21 record and start to make a serious run with just over a month and a half remaining in the regular season.
The Lakers started this season 15-4 before faltering, and one reason they have struggled since is a string of injuries to key players. But they’re fully healthy for Friday’s game, and coach JJ Redick sounds confident about what his team can do moving forward.
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“We’ve got an opportunity to, I think, play our best basketball after the All-Star break,” Redick said after Thursday’s practice. “We’ve got a number of indicators on both sides of the ball that we’re doing some things that are trending in the right direction. And I think it’s coming at a good time as we’re getting fully healthy.”
The Purple and Gold won nine of their last 14 games, and they have shown some improvement on the defensive end of the court. They enter Friday’s game just one game behind the third-place Houston Rockets in the Western Conference standings.
Even better, 10 of their next 13 games, including Friday’s contest, will be at home, which will give the Lakers an opportunity to fatten up their winning percentage. However, they do have a somewhat disappointing 15-10 record at home so far this season.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick: Lakers can play their best basketball after All-Star break