The Los Angeles Lakers‘ season didn’t get off to a great start, as JJ Redick’s squad fell 109-119 to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
The Lakers went into halftime down by one, with the game still there for the taking. However, a tough third quarter, which saw the Lakers outscored by ten points, was the turning point of the contest.
When speaking to the media after the game, Redick shared his frustration with the Lakers’ continued struggles to make the third quarter count.
“The trend I see is that we continue to be a terrible third-quarter team to start,” Redick said. “That was last year; that was the preseason. Gotta rethink some things, and it’s a two-way thing with the guys. What do they need at halftime to make sure they’re ready to play? They’re not ready to play to start the third quarter.”
The Lakers have to figure out how to avoid falling behind during the third quarter, especially when starting the second half on almost even footing. Otherwise, Luka Doncic and LeBron James will find themselves fighting an uphill fourth-quarter battle all season, and that isn’t how a team builds championship habits.
Austin Reaves Talks Lakers Third Quarter Issues
Austin Reaves is in his fifth season with the Lakers. Yet, throughout his tenure, one theme has remained consistent: difficulties making third quarters count. Reaves shared his thoughts on the Lakers’ long-standing third-quarter issues when speaking to the media after the game.
“We’ve just been bad third quarter last couple years for sure, but I think ever since I’ve been here, we’ve had a problem with third quarter,” Reaves said. “So, we’ve just got to figure out a way to come out with a little more energy. The first thing JJ talked about after was just figuring out a way to be better in the third quarter, and that’s on us players; that’s not on the coaches. The coaches that come in here give us what we need; they give us the answers to the test, and we just didn’t come out and execute, so that’s on us that we have to be better.”
Fortunately for Lakers fans, there are still 81 more games left in the regular season. Therefore, both the coaching staff and the players have plenty of time to figure things out and get the team on the right track.
Lakers Have The Talent To Compete
The Lakers front office spent this summer rounding out Redick’s roster, while plugging gaps in the rotation from last season. Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia headlined the incoming players.
Once Redick’s team is fully accustomed to playing alongside each other and LeBron is back in the rotation, they should be a much-improved unit.
“This is probably our second game playing together,” Rui Hachimura said after the game. “We are still trying to figure out rhythm.”
Nevertheless, learning how to manage and potentially dominate third quarters will be key if the franchise is truly going to emerge as a contender this season. The Lakers have the talent and the experience; now they’ve got to figure out how to put all that together in order to reach their collective potential.
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