23 games later, LeBron James took his much-deserved break. Don’t worry age is not catching up to the 39-year-old superhuman, but it’s his left foot soreness that became a matter of concern. The Lakers chose to proceed without him as the four-game road trip has been hectic for the big guy. Despite his absence, the Lakers secured a 107-98 win against the Trail Blazers with the help of head coach JJ Redick‘s master plan, which he revealed after the game.

While giving some insights into his strategy during the postgame press conference, Redick explained, “LeBron and AD are gonna have the ball and we’re obviously gonna run through them,” emphasizing that the core of their approach remains the same. However, he acknowledged the execution would vary each night, as not every player will have their best game on the same night.

“The other guys are really good offensive players and really talented,” the 40-year-old stated. “And there’s nights where it’s their nights and there’s nights where it’s not. So some of it is felt, but again, you have to be open to mixing different things in.” As Redick pointed out, the Lakers must remain flexible in experimenting with different combinations to determine what works best on that particular night.

With a smirk, Redick added, “When LeBron was, like, scratched, I went into my office and I put, like, 7 ATOs together that obviously didn’t involve him. One of which was for Rui, which I don’t know if we’ve called an ATO for him since the preseason. And we executed it and scored.”

The Lakers knew how big LeBron’s shoes were to fill, so they had to step up with Redick’s coaching put to the test. Fortunately, the plan worked out for his side. And the star of the show? Well, it wasn’t Anthony Davis, for a change.

Sure, AD went home with a game-high 30 points. But what shone brighter on Sunday night was the Purple and Gold jersey with D’Angelo Russell‘s name imprinted on the back. The 28-year-old guard lit up the Crypto.com Arena with his 28-5-14 stat line and proved, the team can rely on him in such challenging situations. After the big night against Portland, it’s time for some rest, as Redick mentioned.

JJ Redick reveals the Lakers are worn out!

In the same presser, Redick gave a reality check by disclosing, “We are banged up. Even the guys that are playing every night are banged up. I would say tonight is the end of a very long 2-week road trip. We’ve already had an 11-day road trip.”

Redick reflected on how the Lakers’ back-to-back games have burned them out, with the road trips adding to the miseries. “The travel has been tough,” the head coach highlighted. It comes amidst the growing concern about the scheduling of NBA games.

Returning late at night and jumping straight into practice the next day has become common lately, but Redick acknowledged the importance of rest. With the next game on Friday, the team has more time to recover, and Redick confirmed they would have Tuesday off. “It’s not mandatory, but, you know, will be sort of a recovery get what you need day, for guys that need it. But, heck, if somebody wants to go spend a couple nights in Santa Barbara and relax, that’s fine too,” he said.

It’s been a while since Redick and the Lakers have had a reason to smile, with unanticipated losses and heavy criticism coming their way. However, after this win, they can finally breathe a sigh of relief, though not for too long. After all, they must face the Timberwolves in Minnesota, who gave them nightmares the last time they met.

Hopefully, LeBron will be up and running by then, as his injury isn’t severe enough to keep him out for too long. Then the Lakers will be expected to pull off another one of Redick’s masterclasses.