Rumors

Disjointed or error-prone basketball could be forgiven on a night like Thursday – and Redick started with a perceived truth as he attempted to rally the troops during an early-game timeout “I know y’all are tired,” Redick said, according to guard Austin Reaves, who shared the internal dynamics of a Lakers huddle after the game Thursday night. “I’m not tired,” James fired back.

Orange County Register

Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick says LeBron James and Luka Doncic will play tonight in Miami. Austin Reaves remains a gametime decision.

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They’re playing their best brand of basketball at the right time, and Luka Dončić, for all of his offensive brilliance, remains a critical figure at the other end. “Overall he’s been a good defender for us,” Redick said after the game. “When he gets switched on to the ball — I don’t know what the updated numbers are after the last three games — it’s been under 0.9 [points allowed per possession]. It’s been one of the best, if not the best of all our perimeter guys. “He’s been more active with rotations and being physical with our switching groups. With him, it's to be solid, engaged, do our rules, and he’s smart and can execute that at a high level. When he’s fully on defensively, he can guard the basketball. We’ve seen him do it against everybody in this league. We trust him.”

Yahoo! Sports

An understanding of Redick’s scheme means contextualizing Dončić’s defensive skill set, highlighting what he is good at and attempting to mask what he’s deficient in. Contesting shots, arguably the second-most important aspect of defense outside of positioning, is a strength of his, with Dončić in the 95th percentile in shots contested per 100 possessions and 87th percentile in rim contests. This particularly manifests itself as an isolation defender, when teams try to pick at him; Dončić is allowing just 0.844 points per possession in 109 isolations this year, a hairline below Amen Thompson, and a better mark than Jaden McDaniels and OG Anunoby.

Yahoo! Sports

James also addressed the crowd atmosphere, noting, “It felt like a road game. We made some big plays and had some fans in the stands, but we had our road mentality tonight.” Commenting on Lakers head coach JJ Redick’s remarks about his longevity, James said, “It’s great to be able to go out there. The coaching staff gave us a great game plan, and it’s up to us to execute it. It starts with AR, it starts with Luka, and we all just try to do what we need to help it come to fruition and into a win.”

TalkBasket

Oh No He Didn't: JJ: "The one shot (Lebron) missed he was trying to foul bait. That's the biggest thing" 🤣

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When asked to define what James’ role is on the team, ahead of the final 15 games of the regular season, Redick said it’s still about finding the groove between James, Doncic and Reaves. But James, when it comes to scoring, is third on the totem pole. In the 13 games since the All-Star Game, Doncic has averaged 32.7 points, Reaves has averaged 21.1 and James (who has played in 10 of the games) has averaged 18.7. “He’s still going to be, and still has been, a high-usage player relative to your average player,” Redick said of James. “The best thing for our team is being the third-highest-used player, you know, and obviously there’s been stretches of the year where he’s had to do more with injuries or guys being out of lineup. “And I think finding a rhythm and a groove within, you know, the rotations and lineups when those three guys play, and I think that’s been the challenge for all of them, not just LeBron, all season.”

Orange County Register

Lakers Daily: JJ Redick on LeBron: "Just continue to be the best transition player in the NBA"

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Benjamin Royer: Lakers coach JJ Redick spoke pregame about LeBron James’ current role on the team heading into the home stretch of the regular season. “The best thing for our team is (LeBron) being the third-highest-used player.”

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Benjamin Royer: Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) is not with the team in Houston and has he’s been “shut down” over the past five days, coach JJ Redick said.

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With the Nuggets (41-27) on the verge of winning the season series, Doncic then scored with half a second left to give the Lakers their eighth win in nine games. “I saw the double coming, so I rejected, went to my left hand, to my left step-back,” Doncic said. “I did it a couple times throughout my career, so I just trust the shot.”LeBron James finished with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. “So many guys made winning plays and we went into this game saying that we’re going to treat this game like a playoff game,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “This time of the year, with the standings the way they are, a chance to get the tiebreaker over Denver, treat this like a playoff game. “It wasn’t perfect. But they stuck with it. So, the winning plays really stood out and then, just their ability in high-pressure situations to execute multiple end-of-game situations was really high level.”

Los Angeles Times

Dave McMenamin: JJ Redick: “We have a ridiculously-hard six game stretch here, starting tonight” LAL hosts DEN tonight, then go on the road for HOU Monday, HOU Wednesday, MIA Thursday, ORL Saturday, DET Monday, IND Wednesday

Twitter

"LeBron and I, we talked, we had a great conversation over the last couple days," Redick said. "He wants to do everything possible to help his team win, and he understands the importance of making sure Luka and AR can be at their best. And you know, that's incredible with him. "It speaks a lot to just how much he cares about this team and his teammates, and how much he wants to win."

ESPN

Dave McMenamin: The South Bay Lakers won their 10th straight game on Wednesday, tying a franchise record and improving to 20-8 on the season. JJ Redick spoke pregame about what South Bay’s success means to the Lakers overall basketball as a program.

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