The Los Angeles Lakers have struggled on defense. However, they have managed to stay competitive in the playoffs. LeBron James has once again been crucial to this. Therefore, Lakers head coach JJ Redick took the opportunity to praise the veteran.

After the showing he put up on Friday night against the Timberwolves in Minnesota, it is a safe assumption that LeBron James is feeling pretty good these days. James' Lakers did not win Game 3 of their first-round series, falling, 116-104, but James himself was stellar.

I don't really want to "pin" this loss on anyone, because it was a sensational game that Los Angeles was in until the final possession. But Redick played the lineup of LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves,