The Los Angeles Lakers are peaking at the right time in the season, with the playoffs just around the corner. JJ Redick’s men are 7-3 in their last 10 games and carved out a decisive 142-130 win over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday that saw them move up to third in the Western Conference standings.

However, one area of concern for Redick and his coaching staff remains the team’s performance off the bench. Against the Bulls, the bench produced only 5 points. The Lakers have scored 29.2 points per game off the bench this season. They rank 24th in the league for this particular statistic, trailing far behind Western Conference opponents San Antonio Spurs (41.2), Oklahoma City Thunder (40.3), and the Denver Nuggets (34.8).

HC Redick, however, did not delve much into this after last night’s win; instead, he chose to focus on the positives.

Speaking to the press following the win, he said, “I think I like the way we played tonight. I do like the way we played…the biggest thing for not just those three guys but our team is to just play the basketball game in front of us, just play the basketball game in front of us, and I promise you you’re gonna be around your average in shot attempts.”

The Lakers’ bench is averaging 3.4 points, two rebounds, and 1.1 assists across the last three wins over the New York Knicks, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Bulls. The only player to achieve double digits (points) in these games is the trade deadline day arrival, Luke Kennard. This ‘grey area’ speaks volumes, especially if the Lakers are aiming for a deep playoff run where they will need all the help they can get.

Lakers’ bench performance vs. the Denver Nuggets this season

Doncic & Co. welcome the fifth-seeded Nuggets to the Crypto.com Arena tonight in the second of their back-to-back games. This will be a good occasion for Redick to test his bench with the likes of Kennard, Jake LaRavia, Jaxson Hayes, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Dalton Knecht pushing for more minutes. Center Maxi Kleber will not be involved due to a lower back strain.

Apart from Kennard, the rest of the rotational players have underperformed since the start of 2026. In the 135-117 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Jan 15, the bench contributed only nine points. So, this is definitely a concerning pattern and not limited to just the Bulls game.

The last time these two outfits met earlier this month, it was the Nuggets who notched a 120-113 win in Denver. The Lakers’ bench has averaged 7.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in the two games against Denver this campaign, with Hayes (9 points) and Hachimura (6) starring in the win in January.