Arguably the most important addition the Los Angeles Lakers made this offseason was that of center Deandre Ayton. The Lakers greatly needed an upgrade in the middle and Ayton is an ideal fit next to the Lakers superstar duo of Luka Doncic and LeBron James.
Doncic and James are two of the best passers in the game today and their ability to create should make life much easier for Ayton. But chemistry needs to be built and Ayton recently said he hasn’t gotten to work with either of the superstars so far in practice.
LeBron has been dealing with a minor injury so his lack of participation makes sense, but Ayton and Doncic not working together is a bit of a mystery even when considering the Lakers being cautious with the superstar after his EuroBasket run. However, head coach JJ Redick made it clear that Ayton has had practice time with Doncic
“You gotta play the cards you’re dealt,” Redick said after Lakers practice on Thursday. “I know that’s a cliche, but that’s just reality. You know DA got a couple days with Luka last week. No one’s gotten any time with LeBron. That’s not just DA, that’s everybody. He hasn’t been on the court with the team so that’s just reality.”
Perhaps Ayton simply meant that he hadn’t practiced with both Luka and LeBron together, which does make a difference as the three will be sharing the court together a lot this season. Redick did also clarify that Doncic was a full participant in all Lakers practices last week, ending any speculation about a potential unknown injury.
But as far as James goes, he is on a different schedule for his return. “He’s on his own timeline,” Redick added, which has been clear since the start of training camp.
It is a delicate balance Redick and the Lakers staff must maintain as they don’t want to overwork their stars so early in the season, but still must build that chemistry with this roster if they hope to achieve their ultimate goals.
Lakers’ Deandre Ayton believes playing with Luka Doncic will make game easier for him
Deandre Ayton has had the opportunity to play alongside an all-time great point guard in Chris Paul and that is why he knows he can also have great success playing with Luka Doncic on the Lakers.
“I’ve proven myself that I dominate best with playmakers and I’m here once again,” Ayton said at Lakers Media Day. “I’m much older now and the game is much easier to me and just playing alongside Luka is going to make a lot of things easier. It’s the true nature of the game and we’re here just to emphasize that even more.”
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