The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder 119-110 on Monday night as head coach JJ Redick stuck with his big men too long. He finally went to the small ball lineup with 2:46 left in the game, trailing by eight. They had scored just ten points in the quarter to that point. The Lakers made a nine-point push after going small, but it was too little too late.
JJ Redick had been going small to close games. Deandre Ayton is often benched in clutch moments, but he surprisingly went with Jaxson Hayes for a stretch against OKC. The Thunder were using Chet Holmgren at the five. It was not like Rui Hachimura or LeBron James couldn’t guard the All-Star. Redick knew playing without a traditional big man gave LA their best chance to win, but was just slow in playing that card.
The Lakes were without Luka Doncic as he deals with a hamstring injury. That made their margin for error at zero. The Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but are the deepest team in the NBA. LA had an impressive third quarter to get in the driver’s seat, but couldn’t get the lid off the basket in the fourth. Redick could have changed things up and decided to do it just too late.
JJ Redick must play his five best players in clutch situations
Redick has plenty to balance as Austin Reaves is returning from an extended absence. He is still coming off the bench and on a minute restriction. AR played 29 against the Thunder, but the rust remains. Reaves had 16 points, seven assists, two rebounds, and one steal, but with five turnovers on six of 14 shooting from the field.
Redick needed to go to LeBron James, Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Marcus Smart, and Luke Kennard sooner. This gave LA the best balance of shooting and scoring. Their offense went cold in the final period with the big men on the floor. This lineup opened things up, even if it made things difficult on the glass.
The Thunder had a late run to finish off the win, but the Lakers lost Ayton and Hayes minutes. The big men were too easy to exploit and were not providing enough on the offensive end without Luka on the floor.
The Lakers made just ten 3-pointers. Their 32 percent shooting from long range and just 70 percent on the free throw line cost LA on their home floor. They must make shots to win games without their superstar, and it didn’t happen on Monday night.
The Los Angeles Lakers had to go small sooner to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder. They have been closing close games in this fashion for a bit, so it was baffling to see head coach JJ Redick wait so long to make that move. Ayton and Hayes were not playing well enough to earn that change.
This one is on Redick. He needed to go with his best look. The head coach finally did it with less than three minutes to go, but it was just too late.