The Lakers will need more than seven days to figure out everything about who they want to be under new coach JJ Redick.
But in just one week, the exhibitions turn to actual competition, the season opener now in plain sight for the team.
In their fourth preseason game, this one Tuesday against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers looked like a team with a plan. They didn’t, though, look fully like a team close to executing it.
The Lakers, hell-bent on getting up more three-point shots after finishing second to last in attempts last season, all looked eager to launch. But for the third time in four preseason games, the ball careened all over the gym as the team made only 11 of 40 (27.5%) from beyond the arc.
And against the Warriors, even with Klay Thompson now in Dallas, you’re going to need to make shots. You’re going to need to be disciplined on defense. And Tuesday, in a 111-98 loss, they just didn’t do enough of either.
“When we made stuff up, they hurt us,” Redick said.
It wasn’t just that, though. The Lakers, after possessing the ball more than Milwaukee in a win against the Bucks last week, didn’t hit the glass with the same intensity as Golden State. And when they did create extra possessions from offensive rebounds, like they did all night, they usually missed.
“I was highly encouraged with the shots we got. Highly encouraged,” Redick said. “It was when we didn’t trust our offense and got a little stagnant, the ball stuck.”
Since being hired as coach, Redick has preached a perspective that values process ahead of results, and his team creating and taking the right kind of threes has been a major priority in the preseason.
Anthony Davis continued his momentum from the summer against his Olympic coach, Steve Kerr, making 10of 14 from the field on his way to 24 points. Dalton Knecht, who started the game two for eight , made four shots in the fourth to score 19. LeBron James had just six points in 23 minutes.
Redick said Knecht, who scored 14 of those points in the fourth, will be counted on to be aggressive on the offensive end even when the games start for real next Tuesday against Minnesota.
“He’s got no off switch, which is great. I mean he’s gonna continue to shoot the ball and be aggressive. The biggest thing for him is, you know, defensively, we’ve gotta get him better and up to speed, but that’s nearly every NBA rookie,” Redick said. “…He can get his shot off. I want him to be aggressive. I don’t want to be in his head about stuff. And you know, whether it’s 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20, 25 minutes like we want him to be Dalton Knecht when he’s on the floor.”
Curry had 16 for the Warriors, who were without Brandin Podziemski and De’Anthony Melton.
Austin Reaves, who missed the win against the Bucks, returned Tuesday and played the first half while recovering from a sore ankle.
“I feel good,” Reaves said. “I just like getting out there and playing. When they told me 15 to 18 minutes, obviously, I’m like, ‘Cool.’ When I got out there, I was like, ‘I want to play more.’ But you stick to what the script is and trust the medical staff to put me in the best position to be healthy for the whole year.”
The Lakers will play Thursday in Phoenix in what could end up being close to a dress rehearsal for the season opener before winding up their six-game schedule with one more game away from home — this one in San Francisco against the Warriors on Friday.