The opportunity for players to step into a larger offensive role is there with leading scorers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out due to injury. One of the players many would expect to step up would be center Deandre Ayton, but the big man struggled in the first couple of contests and head coach JJ Redick even spoke about his struggles catching the ball as contributing to his rough performances.
That wasn’t the case in the Lakers’ victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night, however, as Ayton finished with 21 points on 9-of-11 from the field. The big man was focused and engaged on both ends of the court and he noted that he knows when Redick is calling him out and understands how his energy and effort can affect the rest of the team.
“I feel like when I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do, it’s contagious,” Ayton said on Amazon Prime after the victory. “I’m hard on myself, especially when JJ is upset because when it comes to that effort on multiple plays, I’m one of those guys he is definitely talking too. I take pride in that, just trying my best to just make that a part of me just by adding it and reinventing myself throughout the season.”
That mindset and response is what you hope for from players. Some can take the criticism personally, but Ayton is taking Redick’s words and looking inward at himself, understanding that he isn’t always bringing his best and then working to turn that around. The result this time was an excellent showing on the road and Redick had nothing but praise for Ayton afterwards.
“He played fantastic. The third quarter he was just dominant,” Redick said on Spectrum SportsNet. “A lot of that was very targeted because we were playing through the post and Draymond was going to overhelp and DA had his proper spacing. That touch shot for him at 8-10 feet, it’s just a high efficiency shot for him. I thought he played fantastic throughout the game, but the third quarter he was dominant for us.”
Ayton scored 12 of his 21 points in that third quarter as the Lakers really began to put their foots down and pull away in a game they had to win. Ayton has always been a key factor to how good the Lakers can be this season and that is even more important now with the playoffs around the corner.
Luke Kennard emphasizes next man up mentality amidst Lakers injuries
Dealing with all the injuries they are going through right now has required the Lakers to put players in positions they haven’t been in all year long. But veteran Luke Kennard emphasized the need for the team to have a next man up mentality and continue to fight and play hard.
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