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Lakers’ JJ Redick realized ‘playing hard’ is NBA’s only cheat code

February 21, 2025

PORTLAND, Ore. — During JJ Redick’s introductory press conference as the Lakers head coach in late June, one quote, among many, stood out.

When discussing how he envisioned handling rotations, managing players’ workloads, in-game management and the variety of responsibilities an NBA head coach is tasked with, Redick made it clear there’d be collaboration with the analytics and performances teams.

It was also evident that a similar approach was being taken when it came to modernizing the Lakers’ game plans, with an emphasis on attempting more 3-pointers, generating high-value shots, pace and creating a greater margin for error with possessions advantages.

Or as Redick put it at the time: “I’m going to use math. I’m going to use math.”

But after the Lakers’ road win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, which was the second night of a back-to-back after Wednesday’s home loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Redick shared an epiphany he recently had.

“I had this revelation, like I don’t know, six weeks ago, two months ago – the math stuff, it’s important,” Redick said. “It really is. Guys have to communicate, all that stuff. [But] there’s actually only one cheat code in the NBA, and that’s playing hard.

“If you play hard every night, you have a chance to win. If you don’t play hard every night, you’re probably going to lose.”

Consistently playing with high-level effort and attention to detail has plagued the Lakers’ during their lowest moments over the past few seasons.

“In the past, especially my first two years, maybe a little bit in my third year, last year, I don’t know if we’d have won this game,” Lakers guard Austin Reaves said Thursday. “In the past, young, athletic teams that play really hard, obviously, have to match their physicality and pace and stay poised through it all.

“And I feel like this year, we’ve done a really good job of matching that intensity and also playing with IQ as well. So I think that’s a major leap from what we’ve done in the past.”

But in the Lakers’ best moments, and their most impressive wins, their effort has been evident, even when their execution hasn’t been crisp, which was the case in the win over the Trail Blazers.

The Lakers turned the ball over season-worst 24 times for 31 Trail Blazers’ points.

Their 18-point second-quarter lead dwindled down to zero by the early minutes of the fourth.

But their effort, and the plays where it’s most required, prevented them from letting go of the rope in ways they may have in previous seasons or even earlier this season.

They outrebounded the Blazers (48-33) on the offensive (11-6) and defensive (37-27) glass. The Lakers’ leading scorers for the game, LeBron James (40) and Reaves (32), made multiple clutch defensive plays.

And Thursday wasn’t an aberration.

The Lakers entered Friday tied for the league’s second-best record since Jan. 15, going 13-4 in that stretch, in large part because of their improved effort.

The Denver Nuggets, who are on a nine-game winning streak, are tied with the Lakers for the league’s second-best record since Jan. 15.

The Lakers will close out their stretch of three games in four nights with a matchup against the Nuggets on Saturday at Ball Arena.

“It’s just a more of a reflection on like the good stretches, the bad stretches, who we beat, who we lost and feel like against certain teams that maybe we weren’t supposed to win,” Redick said of his revelation, “it was like blatantly obvious that we won because we played harder. That’s where that comes from.”

The Lakers understand there will be bumps in the road as they continue to incorporate All-Star Luka Doncic, who sat out Thursday as the team managed his left calf that sidelined him for 6½ weeks before he made his Lakers debut Feb. 10.

But they also know that playing hard will create a greater margin of error as they work through the kinks.

“That’s the best way to play in this league,” James said. “The best way to compete in this league is to play hard. You can get through a lot of games if you’re able to just play hard. You’re able to cover up for a lot of mistakes.”

LAKERS AT NUGGETS

When: 5:30 p.m. PT Saturday

Where: Ball Arena, Denver

TV/radio: KABC (Ch. 7)/710 AM

Orange County Register

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Lakers’ JJ Redick realized ‘playing hard’ is NBA’s only cheat code

LAKERS AT NUGGETS

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