To say that the Los Angeles Lakers were short-handed against the Portland Trail Blazers would be an understatement. It is because the Purple & Gold were playing without three of their leading scorers from last season. They were missing their infamous trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves for this game. So, if they were to come up short against an in-form Trail Blazers side, not many would’ve blamed them, but head coach JJ Redick did not wave the white flag just then.

On the contrary, the Lakers’ head coach issued a clear message to the rest of his roster, asking them to make this game personal. “ We told the group before the game, like this is a personnel game. Similar to last night, it’s a personnel game. It’s not a how do I guard this action game. It’s how do I guard my

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