Now that the Los Angeles Lakers have played and defeated the Denver Nuggets, L.A. head coach JJ Redick can hopefully get some rest.
After the Lakers decisively snapped the Nuggets nine-game winning streak on Saturday night with a 123–100 victory, Redick admitted he "pretty much [hasn't] slept since we walked off the court in Portland" following a game vs. the Trail Blazers on Thursday. For those keeping track at home, that's about a 48-hour preparatory all-nighter. Sheesh.
That said, though, it clearly paid off.
"Spent a lot of time on this game, our staff spent a lot of time on this game. I envisioned our guys playing hard, they played harder than I could have envisioned. They battled tonight," Redick continued. "Those are the two things that stood out."
The Lakers looked excellent on Saturday, fueled in large part by a dominant performance from point guard Luka Donic, who said he was "finally feeling like myself." The 25-year-old had his best game yet as a Laker, dropping 32 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Behind him was another excellent run from forward LeBron James, who posted 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
L.A. and Denver will meet yet again on March 14, part of a six-game-in-eight-days stretch that even James seems concerned about. It will be a big time for playoff positioning so not the time for L.A. to take its foot off the gas—but maybe, with a win under its belt, Redick can get a bit more shut-eye ahead of that game than he did this one.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as JJ Redick Admits He Was 'Pretty Much' Pulling All-Nighters to Prepare for Lakers-Nuggets.
