Jared Dudley says none of his Lakers teammates are in ‘vacation mode’
The Lakers are working hard to keep their edge in the offseason.
It’s been a month since the Los Angeles Lakers have played a game of NBA basketball, and it could be a few more months until they (or any team) does it again. However, that doesn’t mean they’ve lost sight of the goal they had before the season was suspended, which was to win a championship.
Granted, it’s a little harder for them (or anyone) to focus on basketball in the midst of a global pandemic — and it’s even harder now that gyms and practice facilities across the nation are closed — but the Lakers are doing what they can because they know what they have the potential to do when the season resumes. Even Jared Dudley, someone who’s averaged just 7.8 minutes per game in 40 appearances this season, told Spectrum SportsNet that he’s staying sharp:
“Listen, we’re in a different mindset than people. We have championship aspirations, so tis’ not like, you know, we’re home and sitting at home. I’m someone who doesn’t play that many minutes but I’m getting after it. I told you, I ordered a Woodway, I’m on my elliptical here, I’m running sprints. That tells you, for someone like myself, people know.
“When we get back June 1, or whenever we do get back — hopefully we do — our goals are the same; it’s a championship. Maybe if I was on another team and we were in the lottery on April 15, and we were going to back to play five games, maybe I would be on vacation mode, but that’s not how it is here.”
In an ideal world, the Lakers and the 29 teams other teams in the NBA would have ample time to slowly transition back into their regular season routines, but with how late we are into the league calendar, it’s more likely that they’ll get a mini training camp before jumping into the postseason.
In the event that happens, it sounds like the Lakers will be ready, or as ready as any team can be under these circumstances, and if they’re the team that’s the most physically prepared when the season resumes, they’ll be the team to go the distance.
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