JJ Redick was livid after the Lakers lost to the Suns for the second time in this preseason. Despite Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves’ stellar offensive performances, the legendary franchise was unable to secure the win in the second half.
“But if you wanna be a good team, you gotta do it every single time. You gotta do the right thing every single time. And that’s where I don’t think any of the groups tonight were as consistent as they need to be. To me, we took a step forward with some of the defensive stuff from the other night against Golden State, but we took a step backward tonight, and that’s a little bit frustrating,” the Lakers head coach noted.
“I thought Marcus (Smart) was very physical and tenacious. Would’ve liked to have gotten him a shot, at least one, in twenty minutes. That’s why I think just fooling around in the game a little bit. Didn’t like some of the no-pass possessions, some of the shot selection.”
“And then Luka, you know, he did some good things, and I said at halftime to you that you know he had two opportunities to score right at the rim in the first half, and he tried to make the pass to DA for the lob. I think, just you know, first time, trying to work that partnership, but I like what I saw from him, and I like what I saw from Marcus,” said Redick when asked about the preseason debuts from Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart.
“It goes back to the small interactions. For most of the game, we were really good with that, you know, player to player, and it’s my job to problem-solve. That’s what a coach does, right? But some of that problem-solving, in real-time, has to happen on the court. And that’s where I think there are some really positive trends for our team,” said the Lakers head coach when asked about what the Lakers need to do to become more consistent as a team.
“You know, I think there was some stuff defensively, where on dead balls, I saw guys talking and just trying to fix things. I know DA, just in the last three or four days, has tried to be really vocal on the court, and he did that today. I know Luka and AR, to me it’s their biggest point of development this season, just growing as on-court and off-court leaders,” Redick added when asked about the positive takeaways from the game.
In the first half, the Lakers were on top of the situation. The Suns were trailing, and it showed that they have a young roster that is coming together right now. But in the third quarter, the young team came out with full force. The Suns went on a 33-17 run in the third quarter, completely blowing out the lead created by the Lakers in the first half. It flipped the momentum of the game, and the Lakers could not recover after that. The game ended at 113-104 in favor of the Suns.
The brightest star of the night for the Lakers was Doncic. The former Mavericks superstar put up 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. He only played 22 minutes, but shot 50% from the three-point line and put the Lakers in a solid position. But Los Angeles had 13 turnovers in the game, which Phoenix easily converted into fast-break points and extra possessions. So despite Doncic’s exceptional performance, his team fell short once he was on the bench.
The Suns had balanced scoring led by Jared Butler, who put up 33 points. Jordan Goodwin was also integral with 24 points and six assists. Goodwin was playing for respect as well, as he was waived by the Lakers just this summer, and the Suns picked him up. Getting tormented by a former player you’ve just given up on doesn’t bode well for a franchise with championship aspirations.
There were a couple of highlights for the Lakers, like DeAndre Ayton getting 13 rebounds and establishing his dominance on the boards. And this game showed that Luka Doncic is having as much fun as he can as a Laker. Doncic let down his hair and cooked heavily in the first half.
This was his preseason debut, and the 26-year-old put on a show for his fans. Doncic was smiling ear-to-ear after making a shot from well behind the three-point line, with one of his legs dangling in mid-air, and he was almost falling as the ball went in. Austin Reaves, who also had an offensively stellar outing, recalled his teammates’ crazy antics. And revealed that this isn’t something he just does in a game, it was somehow practiced, thought out, and then executed to sheer perfection.
“Bull****, that’s it. A one-foot falling out of bounds from about 35 feet… That’s some bull****.” Reaves said after the game, recalling a similar practice shot that Doncic had tried and didn’t go in. But during the game, he was picture-perfect on that shot.
“I mean, you see the hero basket stuff. When you’re that talented, you can make any pass, any read, any shot. He shot a shot in practice the other day that was crazy. I told them it’s a blessing, but now and then it’s a curse to know that you could make every shot. When you’re that talented, it doesn’t take much to get back in the flow.” Reaves added.
So they do have one of the most exciting prospects in the league. But they have to put the right supporting cast, or they’ll end up wasting the prime of a superstar and the last shot for their aging star, LeBron James.
