Danny Green Says Extended Time Off Before Second Round Will Benefit Older Lakers

The Lakers have five days off before they open their second-round playoff series against either the Houston Rockets or the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

That's enough time to rest and recalibrate. But it's also enough time to get stale.

After weighing the pros and cons, Danny Green said the break is beneficial for the Lakers.

"We have an older crew, a veteran crew," Green said in a videoconference Wednesday. "I think it only helps us. But at the same time, I think we want to keep rhythm, keep playing. I think teams want to keep playing, want to stay in rhythm. But for older groups, I think it benefits them more than any to actually get some days of rest, be able to relax a bit, take a break, especially in this type of circumstances where there isn’t many escapes."

The Lakers won their first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday in five games. They were off Sunday, practiced Monday, were off Tuesday and practiced Wednesday. Lakers' coach Frank Vogel said they'll have a light, contact-free practice Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Rockets and Thunder, who are gridlocked at 3-3, will play a deciding Game 7 on Wednesday at 6 p.m. PST, giving the winner of that series only one day off before playing the Lakers.

At least it's been a relaxing week for the Lakers.

They had a pizza party Sunday evening, celebrating their first playoff series win since 2012 by eating some food that's hard to come by in the bubble. And Wednesday, they'll have a team dinner and watch the game together.

Green said they'll be in for a challenge either way, whether they play a team led by James Harden or Chris Paul.

"They’re both very tough, great players, Hall of Fame players," Green said. "Obviously, Houston is a different dynamic, where they push the pace, shoot a lot of 3s and play from the perimeter. OKC is a little more traditional, but they got those three guards that attack. They’re very good. They [play] very well. They’re big inside. They have Gallo [Danilo Gallinari] outside. They have a lot of guys that can score in bunches and do great things for them. Both teams have a lot of weapons. So basically, we’re focused on ourselves."

Vogel said the Lakers learned valuable lessons against both teams when they played them during the seeding games at Walt Disney World.

"We lost both of them," Vogel said. "So we learned that either one of those teams can beat us. That’s the number one lesson."

Vogel added that the Lakers may have a few things up their sleeve that they didn't show in those games, though.

"Obviously, when you get into a seven-game playoff series there’s so many more things you can be creative with on both sides of the ball that you wouldn’t see in a game like that, a regular season game or a seeding game," Vogel said. "So for the most part, we played them pretty straight up and the creativity comes now."

The Lakers may have some long-awaited good news over the next few days.

Vogel said that Rajon Rondo practiced Monday and Wednesday and the Lakers are "hopeful" he'll play Friday. He's been sidelined for over seven weeks after sustaining a fractured right thumb July 12 and then suffering back spasms before Game 3 against the Trail Blazers on Aug. 22.

"He’s the floor general when he’s out there, he’s always talking trying to put people in position," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said. "Just being out here and having him in here is great for us."

With all of the Lakers' recent time off, Green said he saw something really interesting transpire Tuesday evening.

After the Denver Nuggets beat the Utah Jazz in Game 7, 80-78, he witnessed players from both teams interacting after what was an intense, emotionally-wrought game.

"I was outside just getting my little daily stroll on at night, or whatever, messing with the cornhole, and Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell were actually talking last night quite a bit," Green said. "You saw a lot of Utah and Denver guys talking and chopping it up after a hard-fought series. It’s something that you don’t really see, or get a chance to do, or happens often in the regular season."

These are unusual times.

And while the Lakers wait to see who they'll be playing, they've gotten some extra time to focus on themselves -- and enjoy some small pleasures in the bubble.

But come Friday, Green said the Lakers will be ready.

"It doesn’t matter who we match up with," he said. "We feel like we can come out on top."