The Los Angeles Lakers were in a tough position on Sunday night trying to come back against the Toronto Raptors with superstar Anthony Davis having to leave the game in the third quarter due to taking a big shot to the eye. JJ Redick needed more from everyone on the team and they came through in a big way.
LeBron James led the way, of course, but Jaxson Hayes, Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish and D’Angelo Russell all stepped up as well in the Lakers’ 20-point victory and Redick was happy with what he saw.
“LeBron took control of the game, and not just with scoring the basketball,” Redick said after the win. “Defensively, with his rebounding, his playmaking. You’re in that situation, and AD goes out, and it requires more from everyone else. And Jaxson [Hayes] stepped up to that moment, played both ends of the court and gave us a few extra possessions. He just his energy, I thought, really uplifted the group.
“But the bench itself tonight, you think about we were flat in the first half. DLo gave us a lift. We executed another three-for-two at the end of the first half to get some momentum, and then Gabe [Vincent], Dalton [Knecht], Jaxson off the bench in the second half, were great.”
That second half was a completely different story for the Lakers as they outscored the Raptors by 22 to secure the win. The Lakers really clamped down in the areas that the coaching staff has been harping on over the past few days and Redick believes his team is responding well to what the coaches are telling them.
“Again, that was something Friday. That was all we talked about pregame in our meeting. That was all our film session was,” Redick added. “Our guys responded. I believe it was our second-best transition defense game of the year, and overall, we were better tonight. It was something we talked about at halftime with the guys. I think it was three points. Three transition points in the second half. They killed us on the glass in the first half. We talked about gang rebounding, three offensive rebounds in the second half. We talked about, you know, protecting our paint. I think they had 12 paint points in the second half.
“Again, they’re responsive to the things we want. And I believe this in my heart. NBA players want to be coached, and our group wants to be coached, and they’re coachable. And that for us is big picture, player staff, one team type thing. That is what I’m talking about with that trust building.”
That buy-in from the Lakers into what Redick and the coaching staff is preaching is so important to the success of this team. Even after some tough losses, the players are responding to the changes and corrections and that can only lead to more success as this season moves forward.
JJ Redick says Lakers’ starting lineup is ‘fluid’
One big change JJ Redick made was to the starting lineup, replacing D’Angelo Russell with Cam Reddish in order to give the starters a primary defender while also providing the an offensive punch to the reserve unit. Early returns have been great, but Redick made sure to note that things could still change in the future.
“It’s all fluid… I just want to be clear, this is all very fluid,” Redick said following a recent win. The Lakers coach added that, health permitting, he doesn’t want to go through a bunch of different starting lineups, but feels both Russell and Reddish have been excellent in handling the change.
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