Imago
Image Credits: Imagn
Imago
Image Credits: Imagn
The Los Angeles Lakers have fallen into disarray. The team has lost four of its last six games, injuries continue to pile up, and the defense is struggling. While the team continues to deal with these issues, one moment caught on camera has been the center of conversation around JJ Redick’s squad.
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Veteran forward LeBron James and his agent, Rich Paul, were seen chatting on the sideline at the team’s win against the Memphis Grizzlies, leading many fans to speculate about their conversation, and Paul recently addressed it on Game Over with Max Kellerman.
“JJ [Redick] made the comment that he felt like the players were having a hard time executing some of the plays,” Paul told Kellerman. “In the game, I saw some stuff… Bron came over, and I was talking to him about what I saw. I was like, ‘Do you see the same thing?'”
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Paul explained that he had been watching the game with a focus on reads, spacing, and timing, and was reminded about Redick’s frustrations. So when he saw LeBron James come over and lock eyes, he explained what he saw.
The 45-year-old explained it plainly. Lakers superstar Luka Doncic, James’ on-ball counterpart, is usually a dead-eye off the catch when he’s square. His recent efficiency drop stems from having to generate a variety of perimeter shots on his own; when he doesn’t have to create open looks, his efficiency climbs. The bonus of that is the simplification of the offense.
Paul even pointed to a specific stretch during the game, when Doncic hit a catch-and-shoot three, followed immediately by a step-back from the right wing a few possessions later.
“‘I like you and Luka in the pick-and-roll,'” Paul recalled telling James in the final four minutes of the game. “He was like, ‘Who, five? Talking about [Deandre Ayton], and I was like, ‘No, I like 77.’ [Doncic] was 77 in the pick-and-roll.”
It was clear when you watched the end of the night’s game. Doncic and James continued to run pick-and-roll, with James screening at an angle to get a mismatch with Memphis forward Jaylen Wells. And this is something that didn’t sit too well.
JJ Redick’s frustration with the Los Angeles Lakers’ execution was voiced publicly
JJ Redick delivered a candid assessment a few days ago after the Lakers’ practice, telling the media that he was at a loss about what to do to organize the team’s offense.
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Dec 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks to head coach JJ Redick against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
“I chalk it up to the holidays,” he joked to the media before being more serious. “I tried to call a dozen plays after a timeout. Just four of which were run correctly… You should be able to transfer 30 seconds of time delay from the clipboard to another.”
Though the Lakers managed to secure the win on Friday, James made it clear that failing on two-thirds of the team’s ATOs was “unacceptable,” and the team managed to turn it around.
During a rematch against the Grizzlies on Sunday, that number went down from eight to just one, which is tangible progress for a team that has shown a pattern of losing focus. James liked what he saw, praising the team for making a “180-change” after Redick’s public callout.
For now, the only thing that remains to be seen is if this can become a consistent habit for a team hoping to be a championship contender or if they need to rebuild.
Written by
Edited by
Deepali Verma