The Lakers visited the Golden State tonight and came away with a much-needed 119-103 win over the Warriors. While LeBron James led all scorers with 26 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds (11-17 FG, 64.7 3P%), Luke Kennard also stepped up to help with the playmaking duties in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves’ absence.
The 29-year-old sharpshooting guard ended up with 14 points, eight assists, two rebounds, and four steals while going 6-11 from the field (54.5 FG%) and 1-2 from beyond the arc (50.0 3P%).
Following the game, JJ Redick spoke to the media and praised the guard for stepping up and performing beyond expectations. He empathized with him and made a bold statement about what people think of Kennard.
“It’s easy cause he’s a white guy that shoots threes. To just think he’s just a shooter, that’s just the reality of the situation. I’m sure every time he checked into an AAU tournament in eighth grade, everybody screamed Shooter, shooter, shooter! That’s the life we have, that’s the life we chose,” said Redick with empathy.
“I watched him a ton at Duke. Got to know him through the pre-draft process, had a couple of phone calls with him, just talking through a couple of things,” said Redick while recalling his own first conversations with Kennard.
“I’ve competed against him, and so I’ve known for a long time that there is a lot more to his game and a lot that he can do as a basketball player, and primarily as a playmaker. He does such a great job of using his shooting, pace, and change of speed as a threat and consistently makes the right play.”
Kennard was drafted by the Pistons in 2017 while Redick was still playing in the league. They both attended the same college (Duke) and had a similar playing style throughout their careers (shooting guards expected to be efficient from beyond the three-point range). Thus, Redick can understand the struggles that Kennard may have faced in his career.
A versatile guard like Kennard can be an x-factor for a team like the Lakers, especially when they are fully healthy. But at a time when they are severely shorthanded going into the playoffs, Kennard stepping up to take on playmaking responsibilities only leaves a Lakers fan with what-ifs in his or her mind.
The Lakers have managed to pull off this win tonight and stay in the race for home-court advantage in the playoffs. The Rockets also won tonight, and so their records are tied at 51-29. With two games left in the regular season over the next three days, any loss could cost the Lakers the fourth seed and the home-court advantage they are seeking in the playoffs.
It will be interesting to see if Kennard steps up in the playoffs to help the Lakers survive until the second round, when they will have both Doncic and Reaves back fully healthy.
