EL SEGUNDO — With the Lakers coming off a 10-game stretch in which they ranked 27th in the league in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions), Coach JJ Redick did more than simply acknowledge his team’s defensive woes following last week’s NBA Cup quarterfinal loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
He also briefly acknowledged needing more from his star players defensively, including having conversations with them ahead of Sunday’s road win against the Phoenix Suns.
Star guard Luka Doncic, one of the players Redick spoke with, described the dialogue as “good.”
“We talked about a lot, not just that, but he was right,” Doncic said after Wednesday’s practice. “You got to get a little bit more, especially from the star players. So that’s on us. That’s on me. And we just got to give more, especially at the start [of] the game. We got to start the game better.”
The conversations with Doncic, and LeBron James, seemingly paid off.
The star duo was part of a team-wide improved defensive performance in the victory over the Suns.
“In Phoenix, we did a pretty good job,” Doncic said. “The plan was focused on ourselves and defensive mentality, so I think we did a pretty good job.”
What Redick saw from his team – disruptiveness, urgency and executing the defensive schemes – were the type of aspects of their defense that stood out on film.
And characteristics that should translate on a game-to-game basis, including Thursday’s road matchup with the Utah Jazz.
“Much better,” Redick said. “Again, I talked after the game of just about our urgency to get better in those three areas and I thought we did that. What we showed this morning, probably 12-15 clips defensively, and it’s something we can build on, continue to get better at.”
As Doncic put it, the Lakers showed against the Suns that they’re capable of better defensive efforts than they had previously shown.
“We should be like that,” Doncic said. “Like JJ said, we told on ourselves. Phoenix is one of the most physical teams in the NBA, so we did a pretty good job there.”
COMMUNITY AWARD
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced on Wednesday that Lakers starting center Deandre Ayton was named the November recipient of the Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for his philanthropic efforts in the Bahamas, Jamaica and Los Angeles.
The league stated in its announcement that Ayton had launched multiple community investments in St. Elizabeth Parish, his mother’s hometown, to support local families rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.
The NBA and NBPA Foundation will donate $20,000 to the Ayton Family Foundation to continue its impactful community initiatives.
“We were in Memphis at shootaround when I found out about the gift that he made for the relief in the Bahamas,” Redick said. “He’s clearly got an amazing heart. Our guys have gotten to see him open up to the group. It’s been really fun for everyone. It’s been very consistent. I’m happy that he was recognized by the NBA. There’s a lot of guys across the league that do things in their communities. It’s an important thing for him to get recognized. I’m happy for him.”
STATUS REPORT
Ayton was ruled out for Thursday’s game because of left elbow soreness, joining guard Austin Reaves as Lakers who will be sidelined.
Guard Gabe Vincent is questionable because of low back soreness.
LAKERS AT JAZZ
When: Thursday, 6 p.m. PT
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City
TV/Radio: Spectrum SportsNet/710 AM