With 6:20 to go in the fourth quarter of the Lakers‘ win over the Grizzlies on Friday, coach JJ Redick went back to starter Deandre Ayton in the middle, replacing backup center Jaxson Hayes, who had started the fourth quarter. Just 51 seconds later, Redick had a change of heart and went right back to Hayes, and wound up playing him for the rest of the period.
It worked out. The Lakers were leading by a 111-110 score when Hayes came back in, and the team went on a 10-2 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to effectively seal the game, holding the Grizzlies to just 1-for-5 shooting and three turnovers in that span.
After the game, Redick was asked about the decision to put Ayton back on the bench in favor of Hayes, who played 23:11 on the night, the second-most minutes he has had off the bench this season. Redick’s answer was decidedly simple: “He was playing better.”
Lakers Defense Leads Way in Clutch Wins
The Lakers’ win moves them to 21-11 and could be a springboard to help them turn around a rough stretch in which they lost four out of five games. L.A. moved to 11-0 in “clutch” games on the season, the key factor in why this team has overachieved. Redick credited the Lakers’ defense, which is not something he has done very often this season.
“I don’t know what the updated numbers are, but out defense has been really good in the clutch, Redick said. “I thought down the stretch, once we got Jaxson back in there, we were able to execute a couple of blitzes, got some turnovers.”
‘One of Our Better Defensive Games’
Well, we do have the updated numbers, and Redick is right that the Lakers’ defense is the key factor in their ability to win so many clutch-time games. They are No. 1 in the league in clutch field-goal percentage allowed, at 34.1% and sixth in 3-point percentage allowed, at 23.8.
They’re No. 1 in clutch-game defensive rating, at 89.8. Being able to set up the defense in the halfcourt was important, Redick said.
“Just getting multiple stops in a row,” he said. “I know they scored a lot in—they only got credited for 20 fast-break points, 27 points off our turnovers. Their early offense, you know, they probably had 70 points there. I thought when we were able to set our defense it was one of our better defensive games we’ve had in a long time in the halfcourt.”
Jaxson Hayes, Other Lakers Role Players Were ‘Massive’
Redick said he also liked the energy the team got from starters Jake LaRavia and Marcus Smart, who are filling in for the injured Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura. LaRavia had 21 points and nine rebounds, while Smart contributed 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. As those guys excel in their role, it will give the Lakers as an organization something to think about when possibly moving Reaves or Hachimura at next month’s trade deadline.
The Lakers have much better energy with those players on the floor.
“It’s massive. I look at that as, it can’t just be one guy,” Redick said. “The players that can star in their role by doing a lot of those things, whether it’s Smart or Vando (Jarred Vanderbilt) or Jake or Jaxson, when the collective group of them is playing the way they did tonight, it is huge for our team.
“It sounds maybe weird but them doing that, it actually takes the pressure and the load off of LeBron and Luka and AR when he is in the lineup. It’s not like we’re not asking those guys to sprint back or asking those guys to not be physical on defense—we’re asking all those things. But that group of guys just embracing crashing and running and defending with toughness is huge.”
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