Lakers head coach JJ Redick highlighted his team’s defensive improvement after Sunday’s 120-114 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. “We asked the guys at halftime, was there anything they were doing that we needed to make adjustments on? And they said absolutely not. I mean, some of it was again that early offense,” Redick said.
He credited the team’s collective effort for tightening up, noting, “Sometimes it’s not, hey, can we guard this action or hey, how do we guard this one player? It’s sometimes just a collective effort and a collective spirit to get back and guard.”
Redick singled out Deandre Ayton for his second-half defensive impact. “DA in the second half defensively was awesome and really in that fourth quarter had some big-time plays at the rim for us,” he said.
The coach also praised the Lakers’ execution out of timeouts, particularly in late-game situations. “One of the things I challenged the guys on before the game was our execution overall and our ATO execution. It was better tonight. Only one f-up on an ATO. But other than that, it was good,” he noted.
Jake LaRavia’s scoring punch received special attention. “I told him in front of the group after the game, particularly in that first half, his aggressiveness and confidence was really good for us,” Redick said. “The thing we’ve tried to really instill all season is point-five decision-making, being catch-and-shoot ready.”
Redick also emphasized the importance of LaRavia’s defense. “Another good game from him defensively as well with deflections and being disruptive,” he said, citing his contribution beyond just scoring.
The coach highlighted how the Lakers involved Ayton in the offense early. “He was great throughout the game…we ran the first play for him, got him another couple touches early. I thought he did a great job which we coached up yesterday in film and on the court,” Redick said.
Redick spoke on the importance of ball movement and team assists. “It’s a big-time step just in terms of taking care of the ball. We had 26 potential assists in the first half. Only converted on 12 of those. I thought our guys just continue to trust the pass,” he added.
Finally, Redick reflected on LaRavia’s all-around consistency. “He’s probably better defensively…he’s been one of our most consistent guys, if not our most consistent guy on that end of the floor. His care factor is high all the time. Those are the guys that are really fun to coach,” he said.
