Redick and Doncic are usually on the same page with referees.
The Los Angeles Lakers will be without their best player on Monday night when they host the Washington Wizards, and head coach JJ Redick isn't thrilled about it.
Luka Doncic picked up his 16th technical foul of the season during Friday's 116-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets, which triggered an automatic one-game suspension from the league.
Redick addressed the situation at practice on Sunday and shared where Doncic's head is at heading into a game he won't be suiting up for.
Redick Knows What Doncic Is About
"He's disappointed, you know, he wants to be there for his teammates," Redick said, before going further into what makes Doncic who he is as a competitor. "He plays like he's not a guy that takes games off and can be banged up. He's going to play. He was like that when I was his teammate in Dallas."
Redick spent his final NBA season with the Mavericks during the 2020-21 campaign, which was Doncic's third year in the league, so he saw up close the kind of player Doncic was becoming long before he became his head coach.
That firsthand experience clearly shaped the way Redick views his star guard, and you can tell it bothers him that Doncic has to sit this one out over something that started with Nets forward Ziaire Williams jawing at him.
The technical came after a brief scuffle between Doncic and Williams in the third quarter on Friday, where Doncic gave Williams a light shove and Williams responded by swiping at his face.
Both players were hit with double technicals, but for Doncic it carried the heavier consequence because of the accumulation throughout the year.
He had actually avoided a suspension once already this season when the Lakers successfully appealed a 16th technical from a confrontation with Orlando's Goga Bitadze on March 21.
This time around, the league upheld it.
Why It Won't Hurt the Lakers
The good news for Los Angeles is that this suspension falls against Washington, a team sitting at 17-57 and already long eliminated from playoff contention.
The Lakers beat the Wizards by 31 points the last time they played back on January 30, so even without Doncic they should be fine.
Austin Reaves will likely carry the load alongside LeBron James, and Reaves has been putting together a career year of his own with 23.6 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Doncic has been on an absolute tear over the past month, averaging 39.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 6.9 assists over his last 12 games while the team has gone 11-1.
On the season he's putting up 33.7 points, 8.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game through 62 appearances, which leads the NBA in scoring and keeps him firmly in the MVP race.
Looking Ahead
The Lakers sit at 48-26 and hold the third seed in the Western Conference with eight games left, and a win on Monday combined with a Suns loss would clinch both the Pacific Division title and a playoff berth.
Doncic will be back Tuesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and from there it's all about staying locked in and keeping the technical fouls in check as Los Angeles gears up for what could be a deep postseason run.