JJ Redick called a meeting with NBA stars Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves before the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday (3/29).
Redick “challenged” Doncic, LeBron and Reaves to be more creative on offense.
“We challenged all three of them when we get to their three-man actions to play with a little more force and a little more thrust and a little more creativity,” Redick said. “We played as well as we’ve played so far offensively.”
The Lakers defeated the Grizzlies by a final score of 134-127.
Doncic, LeBron and Reaves combined for 85 points and 25 assists.
“I think the meeting was just still trying to build that chemistry amongst the three of us to help the team be successful,” Reaves said. “Tonight, it just showed that when we play the right way and trust one another, especially offensively, we can have open looks on almost every possession. … It was really just a conversation about how bad all of us want to win and win at a high level.”
The Lakers now have sole possession of fourth place in the Western Conference standings.
If the regular season ended today, Los Angeles would face Memphis in the first round of the playoffs.
“I think this was a big game for us in the sense of how we lost the other night. We hadn’t been playing great,” Reaves said. “So, coming into this game, it was obviously high intensity. It’s hard, the last game on a road trip because you’re pretty excited to go home. But for that three hours or whatever the game is, you got to lock in and try to put your best foot forward and win.”
The Lakers are 45-29. They are 18th in the NBA in points per game, 13th in points per game allowed, 12th in offensive rating, 14th in defensive rating and 14th in net rating.
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