Many times after losses this season, the Los Angeles Lakers have spoken about their failures to execute the gameplans given to them by head coach JJ Redick and the coaching staff. But in Thursday night’s game against the hated Boston Celtics, the opposite was the case.
The Lakers held the Celtics, who rank fourth in the NBA in points per game and third in offensive rating, to just 96 points in a dominant 21-point victory. The Celtics shot just 38.5% from the field and 34.1% from 3-point range as the Lakers hounded them all night and Redick was extremely happy with how his team executed the gameplan on that end of the floor.
“I thought that was one of, if not our best, games in terms of executing our defensive gameplan,” Redick said after the win. “Not overreacting to [Kristaps] Porzingis making a few turnaround jumpers. Like I said pregame, you have to be willing to live with stuff. Because of the way we wanted to guard them, it also required a lot of on-ball in terms of staying in front and forcing off the dribble jumpers. It required a lot from our shifts. It required a lot from our low-man to stay out of the blender.
“We started the game in some whites and some fronting in the post. We went away from that because twice they got us scrambling. Outside of those couple plays early, I thought we were just in front of the ball and made them score over the top of us. That was what we wanted to do. It’s a credit to my staff, for sure, as we talked through things over the last 24 hours. It’s a credit to our guys for executing at a high level.”
It was, on the surface, a peculiar defensive gameplan as the Lakers often had guards on Kristaps Porzingis. They made him work for tough twos and didn’t help off 3-pointer shooters, which is where the Celtics typically thrive.
The Lakers have hurt themselves with self-inflicted wounds this season, especially against good teams. Struggles taking care of the ball, clearing the defensive glass and just having awful defensive breakdowns have come far too often. But this win over the Celtics showed what they are capable of when locked in.
The key for this team now will be consistently executing at this level. That is the difference between being a decent playoff team and a real championship contender and Redick will continue to do everything he can to get the Lakers to that point. It will just be up to the players to carry that out.
JJ Redick assesses where Lakers stand at season’s midway point
The win over the Celtics pushed the Lakers’ record to a solid 24-18 as they enter the second half of the season. And following the team’s win over the Washington Wizards earlier this week, head coach JJ Redick spoke about being happy with where the team stands at this stage.
“Yeah, I think we’re still searching for more consistency night-to-night,” Redick said. “I really love our group. I really love our group when we’re connected, we play professional competitive basketball and we execute. We’re a really good team when we do that. I think even though we’ve had ups and downs, to be a top-six team in the West right now, Scotty (Scott Brooks) again today reminded me of the Atlanta and the Orlando games. We’re like two games away from where we would feel really good about how things are, but I like where the team is at.
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