JJ Redick head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers
Getty
JJ Redick head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers
For the first time in months, the Los Angeles Lakers are finally whole — and head coach JJ Redick made it clear there will be no easing into what comes next.
As the Lakers open the season’s final stretch, Redick delivered a pointed message to his locker room: the margin for patience is gone.
Lakers Coach JJ Redick Calls Stretch Run a ‘Sprint’
“It’s funny, we were talking before the season about building continuity with those three guys, and we’ve had them available together for 10 games,” Redick said Thursday via ESPN. “My messaging this morning to the players was this is going to be a sprint, these last 28 games.
“Starting Friday, we won’t have more than a day between games until the end of March,” Redick added. “So we’ve got an opportunity to play our best basketball after the All-Star break.”
That sprint begins Friday night at Crypto.com Arena against the Los Angeles Clippers — and for once, the Lakers will do so with a clean injury report.
Lakers’ Big Three Finally Available Together
Luka Doncic, Lebron James and Austin Reaves, Lakers
GettyLuka Dončić, Lebron James and Austin Reaves of the Los Angeles Lakers are finally all healthy.
Friday’s game marks just the 11th time all season that Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves will share the floor together.
Despite the lack of continuity, the early returns have been promising. The Lakers are 7–3 when all three play — a record that hints at the upside Redick believes still exists.
Availability, however, has been the season’s defining obstacle.
James missed the first 14 games of the year and has sat out 18 total. Reaves was sidelined for 19 consecutive games after suffering a calf injury in late December. Dončić added to the concerns by missing the Lakers’ final four games before the All-Star break with a hamstring strain.
The result was a team rarely able to evaluate itself at full strength.
Dončić, Reaves Cleared as Restrictions Lifted
Dončić logged just five minutes for Team World in the All-Star Game, later explaining he was on a minutes restriction.
“I was on minutes restriction,” Dončić said via ESPN. “It was definitely good to get up and down a little bit after having a week off.”
Whether that restriction carries into regular-season action remains unclear, but Redick expressed confidence Thursday that the Lakers are ready to move forward without limitations.
That includes Reaves.
“Austin won’t have a minutes restriction,” Redick said via Silver Screen and Roll. “And as of 35 to 45 seconds ago, it looks like we’ll have everybody available tomorrow.”
Reaves had appeared in just five games since returning from injury and was primarily coming off the bench. With the restriction lifted, the Lakers can finally deploy their preferred rotation during a critical stretch.
Standings Pressure Intensifies
The timing is significant.
Los Angeles sits one game back of the third seed in the Western Conference, with a clear path toward home-court advantage — and away from the play-in tournament — if it can capitalize on continuity.
The schedule will not be forgiving. According to Tankathon, the Lakers have the 10th-toughest remaining slate, including two games each against the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets, plus matchups against Eastern Conference powers Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks.
There will be little room for experimentation, which explains Redick’s urgency.
Why Health Was the Lakers’ Biggest Deadline Move
The Lakers were notably quiet at the trade deadline, making just one modest move by acquiring Luke Kennard in exchange for Gabe Vincent and their lone available second-round pick.
It was hardly a splash, and a clear reflection of Los Angeles’ limited asset pool.
But while the Lakers largely stood pat, the return to full health of their Big Three may ultimately prove far more impactful than any deadline swing they could have realistically made. With Dončić, James, and Reaves finally available together, the Lakers’ most meaningful addition down the stretch didn’t come via trade.
It came from within.