When Luka Doncic arrived to the Los Angeles Lakers, there were questions about how he would fit alongside LeBron James and Austin Reaves considering all three of them having the ability to orchestrate an offense.
Specifically for Doncic, he is not regarded as an off-ball player and rosters are typically constructed around his strengths. However, sacrifices need to be made to make this trio work and so far, all parties are bought in.
Head coach JJ Redick has a good problem on his hands with so many weapons and in the Lakers’ recent win over the Utah Jazz, Doncic played off the ball more than usual. The Lakers scored a season-high 143 points in the games and Redick was pleased with Doncic and James’ willingness to play off the ball, via Khobi Price of the Southern California News Group:
“I don’t know the volume, I haven’t looked at the stats for tonight, but we didn’t necessarily run a ton of pick and roll,” Coach JJ Redick said. “It was a lot of off-ball stuff.”
“Luka, being live on some stuff where he was off-ball and then making plays once he got the ball was awesome,” Redick said.
In the grand scheme of things, there is more work to be done as the Big 3 has yet to truly get many on-court reps this season due to injuries. Redick knows he needs to continue to work on the fluidity of his offense and he appreciates the commitment he has received from all of them thus far:
“Still a lot of work to do,” Redick said. “I think part of the struggle, and I use that word very lightly ’cause it’s not like a struggle where I’m like sitting there like beating my head against the wall, but part of the struggle as a coach is getting guys to buy into maybe doing something that they’re not comfortable with. It’s easy to just [say], ‘I just wanna run pick and roll. It’s easy.
“Isn’t always the right thing to do versus a defense. And I felt like [on Thursday], especially Luka, LeBron, they really just bought into the off-ball stuff, and we milked a couple plays over and over again. They ended up getting the ball and then either having open shots or driving. They did a good job of that, and that’s gonna be a continuous thing throughout the year. Getting those guys to buy in has been good.”
To this point in Redick’s coaching career, his communication skills have shined through and the players truly see the vision. For two all-time greats to sacrifice individual production for winning should be appreciated and hopefully, it ends up paying off in the long run.
LeBron James not surprised by Luka Doncic’s 45-point triple-double
At 40-years-old, James’ workload has lessened in a positive way with Doncic inheriting the lions share of the offensive burden. That was proven with Doncic putting up a 45-point triple-double and James was not surprised by his co-star’s performance at all given how great of a player he is.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!