Luke Kennard landed in the perfect spot at the trade deadline as he’s become an important member of Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick’s rotation.
Like Redick, Kennard is a knockdown 3-point shooter that defenses have to account for, but he’s also shown he has more on-ball capability. Kennard took over more ball-handling responsibilities after Luke Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt and earned Redick’s praise for the job he’s done.
Kennard has been a driving force behind the Lakers’ two playoff wins against the Houston Rockets and he credited Redick for being able to relate to him and put him in positions to succeed.
“We’ve had conversations of his experiences and really good talks with him about the way he’s been able to get shots off. Obviously he’s been one of the better shooters this game has seen,” Kennard said of Redick. “I’ve played against him, I know how tough it is to get open as a shooter and get yours shots off. Especially in the playoffs right now it’s…they have some really long, athletic defenders so it’s not easy.
“But just trusting the positions he’s putting me in has been huge. Like I’ve said we’ve had conversations of his time in the league and ways he’s figured things out, so it’s definitely great when you have a coach that has been in it, his experiences, he’s been in the playoffs a lot. He’s played the game for a long time so he understands what it’s like and what we’re going through right now and it just makes it a lot easier.”
As Kennard noted, Redick is one of the few people in the world who can relate to him and his situation, so that must make it easier to buy in. Kennard’s ability to shoot the basketball will always be his main calling card, but Redick has found ways to make him just as dangerous as a playmaker.
Houston has been forced to respect Kennard both on and off the basketball, giving players like LeBron James more space to work with in half court situations. Los Angeles has done well to take a 2-0 lead, but Kennard and company still have a lot of work to do to advance.
Luke Kennard emphasizes next man up as Lakers injuries pile up
Losing Doncic and Reaves toward the end of the regular season was a brutal blow to the Lakers, but the group has managed to survive without the two stars. Kennard has stepped up his game without Doncic and Reaves, emphasizing that it’s next man up until they return.
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