The Los Angeles Lakers dropped their second straight game to start the preseason on Sunday, falling 111-103 to the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers were without superstars Luka Doncic and LeBron James once again while Austin Reaves also sat on Sunday, leaving head coach JJ Redick without his three best players.
Despite that, the Lakers remained competitive for much of the first half and while things did get out of hand in the third quarter, L.A. continued fighting down the stretch and held the Warriors to just nine points in the fourth.
Overall, Redick was happy with the competitiveness the Lakers showed against the Warriors, believing the team was much better than their preseason opener and now just need to build consistency with that, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Much better. Part of what we’re trying to do is do it consistently, over and over and over. We played about 38 minutes of good basketball. The end of that first half, second quarter they finished on a 10-0 run and then I’m not sure what was going on at the start of the third quarter. But outside of that, those two stretches, I thought we played much better.”
Even Redick didn’t have an explanation for what went wrong during that stretch that included a 27-6 Warriors run between the second and third quarters. In particular, that third quarter run was especially rough as Steve Kerr sat his stars in the second half, but the Warriors still increased their lead without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
But there were still some good things to take away and the preseason is the time to start building good habits. Redick and the Lakers are focused on building that foundation and growing their chemistry together. Without James, Doncic and Reaves, the rest of the players are put into positions that they won’t be in once the regular season begins. But playing hard for 48 minutes is something that is expected regardless of who is on the court and the Lakers are getting closer to that goal.
LeBron James believes focusing on details will lead to success for Lakers
When players and teams are asked about goals for the season, most point to winning a championship as the ultimate goal and that is undoubtedly the case for these Lakers. But aside from that, LeBron James has another measure for success with the Lakers this season, pointing to the need for this team to pay attention to all the details which he feels will lead to success.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
