ORLANDO, Fla. — Before the Lakers’ 118-106 loss to the Orlando Magic on Monday night, Coach JJ Redick emphasized the importance of his team getting back to talking more on defense.
To rebuild the trust that allowed them to have the league’s top-ranked defense from Jan. 15-March 7, they’d have to improve their communication after digressing into bad defensive habits over the last couple of weeks.
That happened in spurts during the loss to the Magic to kick off the Lakers’ four-game trip.
But as guard Austin Reaves put it, “That’s not good enough.”
“You can’t be, when you’re getting stops, you can’t just be talking – if they score a couple possessions, it’s OK,” Reaves added. “They’re going to score. You’ve got to continue to [talk], even when you go a couple possessions without getting a stop. You got to be consistent on that end.
“We started off the game with a lot of communication and then when they go on a little bit of a run, we kind of get quiet a little bit. We can’t do that. We got to continue to figure things out through the flow of the game and not just talk when things are going good.”
Star guard Luka Doncic took responsibility for the Lakers’ dwindling communication, especially during a third quarter when they were outscored 34-18.
Doncic said while everybody should be communicating, it’s on the star duo of himself and LeBron James, who didn’t speak with reporters after the game, to make sure that happens.
“That’s on me,” the 26-year-old Slovenian star said. “Obviously, I’ve got to do better, I’ve got to talk more. I talked in the first half, then just kind of [quieted] down and I shouldn’t do that.”
Doncic added: “I gotta talk more. I’m still new to the team, but getting more comfortable talking more and more.”
HOWARD’S INDUCTION
Dwight Howard was inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame on Monday afternoon, becoming the 13th inductee after eight seasons with the Magic, which included six of his eight All-Star nods and three NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards.
Redick played alongside Howard, who had three stints with the Lakers (2012-13; 2019-20; 2021-22) and finished his NBA career in Los Angeles, from 2006-12.
“He was a superstar,” Redick said of Howard. “He was as dominant as any player in the league during that time. Really felt like had our team had a better record in 2011, he had a real chance to win MVP. If you look at some of the numbers that year, his impact was as big as anybody in the league.
“Playing with him gave me a lot of confidence on the ball as a defender. And then just the way he put pressure on the rim and his screening really helped me.”
Redick also reflected on the franchise with which he spent the first 6½ years of his 15-season NBA career.
“Anytime I come back to Orlando, I get a little nostalgic,” he said. “Met my wife here, got engaged here, played the NBA Finals here, so this is a special place for me. Was able to come back last year during the All-Star break … they honored me at halfcourt at halftime, which was great, and kids got to be a part of that.”
“This is a special place. It was the first time being a pro and you get ingratiated into a community of people and that feeling of belonging to a place never leaves. And Orlando is that for me.”