The Los Angeles Lakers were looking to improve to 2-0 post the All-Star break when they welcomed the Boston Celtics to Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, but they got hammered instead. The Lakers struggled offensively and were blown out 111-89.
An offense with Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves isn’t supposed to ever look that bad, but it did. That led to Lakers forward Rui Hachimura being asked at Monday’s practice about how they can be a great, consistent offense.
“I think it mostly depends on the team we play against,” Hachimura said, via The Athletic’s Dan Woike. “There are some teams that play really good team defense. Against that, we have to be more of sharing the ball, trusting each other. We got to have ball movement.
“Like yesterday, last game, they are a really great team, especially off the shift,” Hachimura continued. “So, I think usually, some guys, even for me, I can split the defense. But those guys are really good on the shift. They are a real handsy team, and they allow them to do that. So, against those type of teams we kind of really struggle.
“We don’t have enough ball movement, so I think those kind of stuff is the key for us to keep a high-level offense,” Hachimura added. “Have the ball movement is going to be the key.”
This is not the first time that Hachimura has called for more ball movement. Following a 125-108 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 1, 2025, he made it clear the Lakers won’t win if they don’t pass the ball and trust each other.
Hachimura only attempted one shot that night against the Suns, and wasn’t too pleased about it. The 28-year-old did get more opportunities against the Celtics, but failed to take advantage of them. Hachimura put up just five points (2-7 FG) and two rebounds in the contest. He wasn’t great, but no one else really was either.
The Lakers shot 34-87 (39.1%) from the field and 9-30 (30.0%) from beyond the arc against the Celtics. Doncic, James, and Reaves combined for 60 points on just 20-53 (41.5%) shooting from the field.
Following the loss, Doncic admitted he, James, and Reaves don’t yet have the kind of on-court chemistry that they’d like. They have only played 12 games together this season due to injuries, and it will be interesting to see how much of an improvement there is as we get closer to the playoffs.
JJ Redick On The Lakers’ Lack Of Ball Movement
Lakers head coach JJ Redick spoke about the loss to the Celtics at Monday’s practice and felt they struggled to execute against the deep drop.
“When teams play the deep drop, we have our counters, and we just got to [execute],” Redick said, via Khobi Price. “I think sometimes when the ball is changing ends quick, it’s just easy to get into drag after drag after drag. I took ownership of that. We have our counters for deep drop. We got to do a better job.”
Redick was also asked if the predictability of the Lakers’ offense makes it easier for teams to defend them. It’s hard to stop Doncic, James, and Reaves, but they know where the ball is staying.
“We looked it up today,” Redick stated. “Our lowest potential assist games are all against the deep drop, so I got to do a better job.”
More and more teams will resort to this defensive strategy, so Redick does need to sort things out. The Lakers dropped to 34-22 with this loss and will take on the Orlando Magic next at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday at 10:30 PM ET.
