“When We Didn’t Trust Our Offense”: JJ Redick Reflects on Where Things Went Wrong for the Lakers Against the Warriors

The Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors clash tonight didn’t seem like a preseason game. Both teams played with high intensity with Steve Kerr and JJ Redick giving their stars more playing time than usual. Anthony Davis had a solid 24-point double-double, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the Lakers from suffering a 97-111 loss.

Redick pointed out the exact moment in the post-game presser when things started going south for his team.

The LA side played some good basketball during the first two quarters, even though they trailed 51-58 entering halftime. Kerr’s boys lived up to their reputation of putting their foot on the gas right after the break. As a result, the Warriors outscored their opponents in the third quarter by six points.

Redick also highlighted the dip in his team’s offensive production in this period, scoring only 19 points in 12 minutes. “It was when we didn’t trust our offense and got a little stagnant…that was the beginning of that third quarter,” Redick told reporters.

The 40-year-old thinks too many Lakers players wanted to get themselves going to score more consistently. But that is something Redick wants the team to move out of, even though he understands the feeling very well as a former player himself. He wants the players to trust themselves a little more.

The Lakers head coach did highlight a positive takeaway from tonight’s loss. LeBron James and Co.’s passing in the first half seemed to be motivating for the coach.

“Our execution, ball movement, passing – I thought it was great in the first half. We just didn’t make shots… I was very pleased with the type of shots we generated,” the Lakers HC said.

Lakers Nation might be disappointed by the 1-3 preseason record. However, there were multiple positive aspects to take from the game – rookie Dalton Knecht’s 19-point performance and AD’s ability to help the team thrive by shifting to the PF position.

Redick’s strategy to use Davis as a PF worked well

Redick tried to incorporate several different strategies in this game. The most prominent one was probably shifting Anthony Davis to the four spot.

Davis started the game as the center. However, JJ brought on Jaxson Hayes on the floor in the first half, forcing the Brow to change positions. This was an interesting way to assert their dominance over a comparatively under-sized GSW.

Hayes, Davis, and James were dominating the paint. The duration that the three players spent together on the floor allowed the Lakers to grab more offensive rebounds. As a result, they scored more second-chance points to cover for the lackluster shooting performance.

Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell also did a great job of feeding the ball to their big men in the low-post area. We can expect Redick to test this combination in the remaining two preseason games as well.

However, the Lakers will have to convert the opportunities they create to see success next season.