The Lakers shut down Cam Reddish for more than a week, hoping the time off would speed up his recovery from a left knee effusion injury. But in the middle of Reddish sitting out the last three games, he also recovered from a left groin injury that had been bothering him at times throughout the season.
After returning in the Lakers’ 134-110 win Sunday over the Portland Trail Blazers, Reddish said he felt like his pop was back, his body feeling ready to work again.
“Yeah, it for sure felt like that. I think my knee bothering me helped my groins too,” he said. “I was able to for sure get into the passing lanes a little bit better, get out a run a little bit better. So, overall I felt a lot better. Hopefully my body will keep doing me well.”
Reddish, who has started 26 games for the Lakers this season, played 21 minutes and four seconds off the bench, finishing with 10 points on five-for-eight shooting, four rebounds and two steals.
“Yeah, it felt real good to be back,” Reddish said. “I mean, it’s been three or four games? I don’t know. But it was fun to be back, man, get up and down with the guys. Happy to be back. “
The Lakers love how the 6-foot-8 Reddish uses his length on defense and how they can use him to defend one-on-one against Portland’s Anfernee Simons or Malcolm Brogdon.
“You know, Cam coming back, putting that pressure on. Tonight, Simons, and you know, Brogdon, he’s able to guard at a very high level,” Anthony Davis said. “And then offensively, attacking the basket, shooting the ball. So we definitely miss his presence when he’s out.”
Reddish plans to be aggressive in his rehab so his body doesn’t betray him again.
“I definitely have to stay on top of it, for sure,” Reddish said. “But it’s just feeling a lot better. I mean, in general, I just feel a lot better, you know what I mean? Just a few days made all the difference. So, hopefully we can keep that going.”
