JJ Redick says Lakers had best practice in months ahead of Game 2 vs. Wolves

After an embarrassing blowout loss to the Wolves to start the NBA Playoffs, the Lakers had one of the best practices of the year ahead of Game 2

The first round of the NBA Playoffs are always broken up with more days rest between games, which can serve as a blessing and a curse.

On one hand, players get to rest up between games. On the other hand, when you suffer a Game 1 loss like the Lakers did, you have to stew in that defeat for quite some time.

There’s only so much film one can watch after a loss and few ways to respond. One outlet is on the practice court, where the Lakers found themselves on Monday. And while it only means so much, the Lakers did have a good response.

“We had our best practice we’ve had in months,” head coach JJ Redick said following practice, noting that the team focused on defense on Sunday and offense on Monday. “They played live for a very extended period of time.”

A good practice is not really indicative of anything and doesn’t mean the Lakers are guaranteed to have a good Game 2 performance now, but it’s better than nothing! Realistically, though, if there was any response fans were hoping for with the extra day off, it would be that the team had a good practice.

Nothing they do on Monday will determine the outcome of Tuesday’s game. However, putting themselves in a strong position to come away with the win is the right step. And now, the challenge will be translating a strong practice into a strong performance on the floor in Game 2.

“We watched what happened Game 1 and hopefully we can right our wrongs,” Reave said. “We played bad. They shot the ball really well. They’re obviously a really good team’s that physical. We have to match that. Tomorrow will be a different story.

“Today was a really good practice. We’re looking forward to tomorrow.”

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