Whenever a team is going through a coaching transition, it is hard for players to adjust to new schemes and philosophies. Head coach JJ Redick took over a Los Angeles Lakers team with a dominant duo in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but in need of a way to increase their ceiling.
While James is defying the odds at 39-years-old, Davis is the focal point for the Lakers as he is entering the prime of his career. The passing of the torch is finally happening and Davis is looking as dominant as ever.
Coming off of a 38-point and 11-rebound performance on Friday against the Toronto Raptors, the star big man has dropped 30 or more points in four out of L.A.’s six games. While this early-season scoring outburst has been a surprise to many, Redick envisioned Davis being an efficient scorer under his system, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I did. It’s funny, tonight, we ran a few things for him but it wasn’t like we featured him. I think it’s a testament to how we envision our offense. The ball is gonna find the best players. We can certainly put guys in certain positions within our alignments and our system to exploit their skills, but the ball is gonna find AD if we play the way we want to play. And we always look for opportunities to just feature him with a set call.”
In a limited sample size, the Lakers’ offense has looked more fluid with ball and player movement, which is refreshing given how previous coaches focused on the defensive end.
Currently, the purple and gold are in the latter half of the league in terms of defense while being top-10 in offense. That is the case simply due to Davis and James making plays with the ball in their hands.
Under Redick’s system, it is not hero ball and the two stars are involved in actions with or without the ball, which is an interesting wrinkle to keep opposing defenses on their toes.
JJ Redick discusses Lakers’ second-half slippage against Raptors
Despite Anthony Davis and LeBron James putting together stellar performances on Friday, the Lakers nearly blew a 26-point lead against the Raptors.
It was sloppy basketball on both sides of the floor for the Lakers as they went away from what worked in the first half. In today’s NBA, leads are never safe and 3-pointers can always get a team back into the game. JJ Redick talked about the Lakers’ second-half mistakes against Toronto, expressing a need to start third quarters better.
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