The USA Men’s Basketball gold medal streak might have ended in Paris if not for two Lakers. LeBron James was the tone-setter for Team USA, the tournament MVP who led the team in assists and rebounds per game and was second in scoring — he made smart decision after smart decision with the ball in his hands. Anthony Davis was the USA’s best and most consistent big man on both ends of the court through the Paris Olympics, he was second on the team in rebounding and was a defensive force in the paint when called upon.
Their play this summer leads to the question, should first-year coach J.J. Redick ease them through training camp and into the season? On Spectrum TV’s Lakeshow Podcast Redick said he was not concerned about his stars entering the season (hat tip Lakersnation.com).
“I mean, look, those guys are professionals in every sense of the word. My concern for them about whether or not they’ll be ready to play on Oct. 22 and be in shape, I don’t have that concern. We’re gonna work with Mike and Ish making sure that they feel that they’re in a great place to start the regular season. They’ll certainly be involved in training camp and the preseason here in September as well as preseason games.”
Nobody is questioning or concerned about LeBron and AD’s conditioning and professionalism. They will be ready to go.
The challenge Redick faces is the same one Darvin Ham did before him (and any coach who took the Lakers job): Keeping the Lakers star duo rested, fresh and healthy while winning enough games for a good postseason seed. Where is the line between winning games in December and January and wearing down players? The question has never been, “Can LeBron/AD crank it up for a stretch of games?” We saw it in the In-Season Tournament last season, which the Lakers won. We saw it in the Paris Olympics. However, it’s one thing to do it in five international games with almost no travel and playing less than 25 minutes a night, it’s another thing entirely to do it playing closer to 30 minutes a night through the marathon that is the 82-game NBA season.
Redick will get a lot of blame or credit for whatever happens with the Lakers this season, but more of it should fall on the front office that hired him. GM Rob Pelinka and company re-signed LeBron James and drafted Dalton Knecht, but generally the Lakers are running back the roster that won 47 games last season (eighth seed, jumped to seventh after the play-in) and are banking on better role player health (Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent), and that Redick can get the team to take a step forward in a stacked Western Conference. If the Lakers stay about the same — a good team, but one that lands somewhere between the 6-10 seeds — is that enough? Is that taking advantage of LeBron’s remaining years?
It’s going to be an interesting season in Los Angeles.