After parting ways with head coach Darvin Ham and replacing him with JJ Redick, the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping that will help get them back into championship contention despite not making any significant roster changes.
While it is too early to say that will be the case, there’s no denying that there is a different vibe and energy surrounding the Lakers under Redick.
The former 15-year NBA veteran is very intentional about everything he does, wanting to put his players in the best position possible to succeed. That includes set rotations and substitution patterns so far in the preseason and season opener, which wasn’t the case with Ham for most of the time.
For example, since the start of the preseason, backup center Jaxson Hayes knows that he will be entering the game around the five or four-minute mark of the first quarter, where he will play for a few minutes alongside Anthony Davis in two-big lineups. He will then take over as the long big on the floor to begin the second quarter while Davis gets his rest before returning midway through. That is then repeated in the second half, giving Hayes a good sense of when he will be playing and what his matchups will be.
After the Lakers’ practice on Thursday, Hayes discussed how beneficial that can be for himself and other bench players on the team.
“It definitely helps a ton more,” Hayes said. “Just like knowing your set minutes and knowing when you could go over to the bike, go over to the trainer, start getting ready to go in. So it just always helps to know.”
Of course it helps that the Lakers have a lot of players healthy to start the season. Redick’s rotations will likely change a bit when players go down with injuries or others like Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood return.
But regardless, it appears that Redick and his staff and communicating extremely well with their players, leading to more continuity and cohesiveness across the board.
Jaxson Hayes discusses focus when playing alongside Lakers star Anthony Davis
With the Lakers running more two-big lineups with Jaxson Hayes and Anthony Davis, the former discussed what his focus is during those minutes.
“I really like it a lot because when that happens, I can focus on just crashing and playing in the dunker and setting ball screens because I know AD has already been in the whole quarter so I got to pick up a little bit for him,” Hayes said after the Lakers’ recent preseason contest against the Golden State Warriors. “Also, it’s just that he brings all of the extra attention so it’s like, I can sit in the dunker and kind of get easy buckets whenever he’s in. So I like it a lot.”
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