The Lakers were trailing by just three points, with the final minute of the game left. Even without Luka Doncic, the Purple and Gold franchise had its chances to win. But the same old problem haunted JJ Redick as his side suffered a 119-110 loss to the Thunder. Guard Austin Reaves got the majority of the flak, but he and his other teammates admitted their mistake.

“There were a couple of tough threes that he (Reaves ) took. Thought he had a couple angles on his drives and just didn’t finish. Had a couple middys that he didn’t, you know, he created separation with his bump and didn’t hit. Jalen Williams down the stretch did the same thing against us, and he made his. So, it’s just, you know, some of it is make miss. You know, we had open looks down the stretch, we didn’t make those.”

JJ Redick, in his post-game conference, was clear that Austin Reaves had the looks especailly in the fourth quarter, but the 27-year-old failed to connect. He is currently on a minutes restriction capped at 25 minutes a game, due to a left calf strain, which caused him to miss 19 games. Against the Thunder, AR converted 6-14 but 1-5 from beyond the arc. In fact, Reaves was 0-4 in the third quarter and 1-3 in the fourth quarter. The reason?

“I played pretty bad in the second half. I got to be better and yeah, that’s really it. I think I got frustrated when I didn’t get the foul call, got the tech, let that kind of get to me a little bit.” OKC’s physicality made it tough for the Lakers on multiple occasions. AR thought he deserved some calls, but when he didn’t, his focus was out of place. But it’s not just Reaves who had a bad fourth quarter; his teammate couldn’t drill one in the final quarter.

Jake LaRavia took three shots but got no return for them. That dull fourth-quarter performance came as a surprise since in the third quarter, Jake scored 11 points. In the post-game conference, he began addressing his failed shots.

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“We had three possessions in a row. I got three really good looks, and I missed all of them. So that was a tough swing for us. I didn’t make shots down the stretch, and there were a couple of other ones that we missed, but that was a big factor in that game.”

Both young guards accepted their roles, and their missed shots took the game away from the team. JJ Redick pointed out AR’s action, since he is the senior of them, and has been the second star on the team throughout this season. But their shooting issues are not new.

The latest Laker to solve the JJ Redick issue

JJ Redick’s team has the league’s best 49.8 % FG shooting, but their 3-point 34.9% is the ninth-worst in the league. To solve the issue, the Lakers sent Gabe Vincent and a 2032 second-round pick to Atlanta in exchange for the veteran marksman. Luke Kennard, in his career, is a 44.2% three-point shooter who is expected to add immediate spacing and depth to the rotation.

He has led the league in three-point percentage in three separate seasons (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2025-26 to date) and ranks second all-time in career accuracy, first among active players. JJ Redick welcomed Kennard’s arrival with a simple directive.

“I’m gonna highly encourage him to shoot more,” Redick told reporters when discussing Kennard. “And not turn down shots. But I think one of the underrated parts of his game is his ability to move and create second actions and move the basketball.”

Luke Kennard has evolved into one of the most reliable spacers in modern NBA history. This season, before the trade, he is shooting 49.7% from three on 3.2 attempts per game with a 69.2 eFG% and 91.4 percent from the line. Even against the Thunder, when LeBron James, Austin Reaves, and Jake LaRavia had an off night, Kennard was consistent from the bench with 3-5 FG and 1-2 from the three-point range.