Doncic, Lakers focused on 'championship shape'

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- After making his squad tally a bid of full-court sprints to decorativeness its 3rd time of grooming campy Thursday, Los Angeles Lakers manager JJ Redick admitted what helped his players' conditioning mightiness person wounded his popularity successful the locker room.

"I don't cognize if they similar maine close now," Redick said.

The second-year manager ended his inaugural play connected the sideline successful L.A. by issuing a directive to his squad to get into "championship shape" this offseason, and the grooming campy drills are lone reinforcing the mandate.

While Redick said the connection wasn't aimed astatine immoderate individual, it intelligibly was received by 26-year-old superstar Luka Doncic, who transformed his assemblage implicit the summertime with aggravated workouts and dietary discipline.

"It's not conscionable carnal shape, it's intelligence shape, too," Doncic said of Redick's attack for his team. "Both are precise important. We're doing it successful practice. It was great. Everybody's successful large shape. Everybody's moving a lot, truthful it's been large truthful far."

L.A. ended its past signifier earlier its six-game preseason slate tips disconnected Friday successful Palm Desert, California, against the Phoenix Suns with a gamut of lung-pumping runs. Players had to tally six tribunal lengths successful 34 seconds, followed by a abbreviated break; past 10 tribunal lengths successful 60 seconds, followed by a abbreviated break; and finally, six much tribunal lengths successful 34 seconds.

Redick joined them for the last push.

"I conscionable ran the past six," said Redick, inactive flush successful the look from the workout, "and I'm bully [not moving anymore for the day]."

After the Lakers' 50-win play that secured them the No. 3 effect successful the Western Conference playoffs was chopped abbreviated with a first-round exit against the Minnesota Timberwolves successful conscionable 5 games, the accrued dedication was a mode for L.A. to amended internally beyond subordinate unit changes.

"I deliberation there's 3 ways I benignant of view, 'Are we successful shape?'" Redick said. "The archetypal would be, 'Are we sprinting backmost defensively?' 'Are we playing with gait offensively?' And I would see our quality to clang and past get backmost connected defence successful that. And then, 'Are we being physical?'

"So, if those things are being done astatine a truly precocious level, we're successful shape."

Lakers defender Gabe Vincent said Redick's demands are welcomed, adjacent if players' bushed legs mightiness effect successful impermanent animosity toward their coach.

"I told JJ astir a week oregon 2 ago, I said, 'If we each hatred you, but we each hatred you collectively, that's great,'" Vincent said. "So arsenic agelong arsenic we're unneurotic successful it. Obviously nary 1 wants to tally astatine the extremity of a agelong practice, but we cognize the extremity we person acceptable for ourselves and we cognize what we're trying to bash moving forward. And we each embraced it.

"We each got the tally successful and we each got amended for it."

That is, each the players who were cleared for signifier did.

LeBron James (nerve irritation successful his glute), Marcus Smart (left Achilles tendinopathy) and rookie Adou Thiero (left genu swelling) were each held retired Thursday and volition not play against the Suns.

Lakers large antheral Maxi Kleber is besides retired "for a fewer days," according to Redick, aft having a quad wounded helium suffered connected the archetypal time of campy evaluated by the aesculapian staff.

Redick said helium would person his players play "short bursts" against the Sun...