In the first game without Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic, the Lakers suffered a loss to the tanking Mavericks. The Purple and Gold franchise outscored the Dallas team in the fourth frame, as they were playing catch-up for the majority of the game. Coach JJ Redick did not mince his words in calling out this effort as he plans for the playoffs.

“Yeah, I think the biggest thing I talked about after the game, we’ve got to get back to what we did for six weeks, which is being good on both sides of the ball,” said Redick before the Thunder game on Tuesday. “I think that starts with our effort; we did not do a good job in either of the last two games of just simply running back on defense. The first and third quarters were two of the most atrocious things I’ve ever watched in my life.

“You’re not going to guard if you don’t run back. So that goes into, you know, sort of the philosophy with tonight. Being out with LeBron and obviously with Smart and AR and Luka, like our playoff rotation is not set in the first round. So, um, we’ve got to evaluate everybody, and we’ve got to find out who those guys are that we can trust and put in the playoffs.”

Top Stories

NBA

Jaden Ivey’s Wife Pleads Him to “Stop” IG Live as Ex-Bulls Star Attempts to Share Update on Social Media

22 hrs ago

WNBA

Angel Reese Breaks Silence After Atlanta Dream Trade Yields 460 Percent Salary Surge

15 hrs ago

NBA

NBA’s “Terrible” Dunk Contest Triggers Shaquille O’Neal to Launch New League in Partnership With $69Bn Company

1 day ago

NBA

“This Is Why Michael Kept His Mouth Shut”: NFL Legend on LeBron James’ Memphis Controversy

1 day ago

NBA

Who Is Michael Malone’s Wife? Meet the Nuggets HC’s Partner of 25 Years and Two Amazing Kids Who Take After Her

3+ weeks ago

The Lakers allowed the Mavericks to score 41 in the first quarter and 40 in the third, despite Dallas being the 29th-ranked offense. So, JJ Redick wants to go back to the form that the team displayed in March, where they went on a 15-2 run. No doubt, Luka Doncic was on a streak and scored 37.5 points on average with 49.2% shooting, but defensively, too, the Lakers were solid.

They had the 11th-best defensive rating in March, 111.7, which was better than their season average of 116.0. But in April, in the two games they have played, it has slipped to 133.2, the worst in the league. Against Dallas, the Lakers conceded 24 fast-break points, had 12 turnovers for 21 points, and struggled on the defensive glass. All of this will be a problem in the playoffs, as those teams have an even better offensive record to capitalize on.

With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined for weeks, the injury problem doesn’t stop there. Marcus Smart has missed the past eight games, and against the Thunder, LeBron James was ruled out because of a left foot issue. So, JJ Redick has to choose players who can perform on the defensive end.

By simply looking at the March data for defensive rating, Jaxson Hayes (107.6), Jake LaRavia (108.3), Rui Hachimura (109.1), Deandre Ayton (109.5), and Luke Kennard (116.5) stood out. Even second-year star Bronny James’ ability and defensive rating of 120.2 were not bad, as he only played limited minutes on the court.

Here, the problem remains that the team doesn’t have a primary ball handler. But against the Mavericks, one player did the job well and got the appreciation of the head coach.

JJ Redick creates another plan to tackle the loss of key players

Despite having a tiebreak advantage over the Nuggets and the Rockets, securing the third seed is not safe for the Lakers. Injuries to Doncic, AR, LeBron, and Smart came at the worst time. Yet, JJ Redick called upon Luke Kennard to be the solution. The 29-year-old is a 3-point specialist, but he has shown flashes of being able to run an offense and set teammates up for shots. His triple-double of 15 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists against the Mavericks was proof.

“We talked a lot about simplifying the initial play call and getting into second actions,” Redick said after the game, and praised Kennard’s performance. “I think overall the guys did a really good job of that. I think we were 22-1 or 23-1 with 29 or more assists, now there’s two losses there.

“But it’s an encouraging sign. I think he did a nice job. We gotta figure out what can be the second ball-handler, obviously, 41 minutes is too much for him. Him having to handle as well, that’s not a normal thing for him, and probably contributed to him not having a great shooting night.”

Kennard notched his first triple-double of his career in a new role. But JJ Redick acknowledged that playing Kennard too much on the ball would limit the team’s opportunities from beyond the arc. So, when LeBron James and Marcus Smart return, the load will be shared as the head coach deals with the turbulent injury scenario.