The star of the night for the Los Angeles Lakers in their victory over the Toronto Raptors was center Deandre Ayton. He was a perfect 10-of-10 from the field, becoming just the third Lakers player to ever shoot 100% from the field on at least 10 shots, finishing with 25 points and 13 rebounds in the win.
It was undoubtedly one of Ayton’s best performances of the season and head coach JJ Redick felt the big man was outstanding.
“Yeah, he was phenomenal,” Redick said after the win. “He’s had a number of these games where he scores efficiently, but really just from a production standpoint to get 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds that he’s had games like this. It’s just a huge thing for our team, particularly against teams that red. And that’s where I thought he made a huge difference today.
“There were a couple of passes early that we threw to him. One was a lob, one was we were trying to get a seal in early offense for him and we didn’t get him the ball. One was a little high on the lob and then the other one got deflected. I thought our guys just continued to trust him. As the game progressed, he just made some really tough catches in traffic and then was able to score the basketball.”
The Lakers were looking for Ayton early and often against the Raptors and Redick feels the team must continue doing that going forward. For players like Ayton and other role players, Redick feels the team’s creators must keep them involved and reward them for doing the dirty work.
“There’s a trust level that I think exists with our guys, particularly when he’s in that short-role area,” Redick noted. “Those our post spacing, where he can get those little dump-off passes around the restricted area, just got such a great touch. But for all our guys, the pass is what connects us offensively. Even the defensive-minded players, they still want to feel like they’re part of the offense. That’s just the natural thing that basketball players have.
“And as a big, in particular you’re involved in a lot of plays where you don’t touch the ball. There’s certain players that are not involved in a lot of plays that don’t touch the ball. They’re in the corner, for example. But a big is typically screening a lot, rolling, so you’re doing a lot, and you don’t always get rewarded. And I think it’s important that we continue to look for him.”
Those couple of touches may not seem like much, but those rewards keep the defender’s energy up on the other end of the court and keeps the bigs active at the rims and setting screens. The Lakers have that trust with one another and when the ball is moving and everyone is involved it makes this a much better team on both ends of the court.
JJ Redick praises Jarred Vanderbilt for starring in his role for Lakers
Another one of those role players who does a lot of dirty work for the Lakers is Jarred Vanderbilt and Redick recently praised the defensive-minded forward for being a star in his role over the past few weeks.
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