The Los Angeles Lakers were extremely shorthanded on the second night of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers. While they fought as hard as they could, the Lakers ultimately couldn’t keep up with the Blazers, falling 122-108.
Austin Reaves had another outstanding night with 41 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals while Deandre Ayton added 16 points and eight rebounds against his former team who surprisingly released him this offseason. And Ayton feels the Lakers missing so many rotation players simply caught up to them.
“Yeah, you could tell tonight. We needed our guys,” Ayton said after the Lakers loss. “But yeah, like you say, no excuses. We needed to take care of the ball. I think Portland did a great job of speeding us up, playing their game, for them to have quicker offense and quicker buckets. But we didn’t get a chance to regroup and just to adjust to the game a little bit and adapt to how they were guarding us. We were getting fouled, but we still had situations where we were sped up and it would give them momentum off of our turnovers.”
The Lakers committed 23 turnovers, eight of which came from Reaves who was the focus of the Trail Blazers’ tenacious defense. Obviously there are no moral victories and the Lakers want to win every contest regardless of who is on the floor, but Ayton does believe games like these give an opportunity to others on the roster.
“This is the true point of showing togetherness a little bit,” Ayton added. “JJ [Redick], the coaching staff, seeing what they got other than having the superstars out there, making plays for the team. And it’s good to see, some of these guys who’ve been, “ready next” guys. [The guys] who’ve been training and just getting in shape and stuff like that. The guys who didn’t get any minutes to be out there and get some running as well but also trying to win the game, contributing what the coaches want and just handling the ball and stepping up, having the next man mentality.”
Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt had strong performances while Bronny James and Nick Smith Jr. were able to find ways to contribute, combining for six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. But despite the loss, Ayton still feels this game can be a learning experience for the Lakers going forward.
“Yeah, the rules have stepped up. When key guys are out, JJ [Redick] wants more from you as well, and we just really gotta be really ready,” he said. “I think this was a great game to really take away and really see, especially what we need to work on when our primary guys and primary ball handlers aren’t in the game. [It’s] just [good] to really go back and look and see what’s our strengths and what aren’t.”
If the Lakers can do what Ayton is speaking about and really learn from this, those role players will only grow stronger and be even more capable the next time their number is called.
Lakers’ JJ Redick on lack of ball-handling
As previously mentioned, the Lakers had 23 turnovers in the loss. With Austin Reaves being the only true ball-handler on the floor, JJ Redick acknowledged that was just too much for his team to overcome against a tough Trail Blazers defense.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
