The Lakers debuted something new on Thursday night: a Lakers zone defense. JJ Redick called the 3-2 matchup zone “a weapon” after the Lakers held off the Sacramento Kings 114-110 at Crypto.com Arena. It was the Lakers’ first home game since last season’s playoffs. Luka Doncic scored 23 points in 25 minutes, Austin Reaves made his preseason debut with eight assists, and the Lakers moved to 2-1.
This recap follows our game-day report and covers what changed since the 124-98 loss at Golden State.
How the Game Went
The Lakers led 21-20 after a sloppy first quarter, then took control with a 36-23 second quarter that included a 19-3 run built on three-pointers. They led 57-43 at halftime. Sacramento outscored them 40-28 in the fourth and cut the margin to four with about two minutes left, but the Lakers held on.
- By quarter: Lakers 21-36-29-28, Kings 20-23-27-40.
- Shooting: the Lakers shot 36-of-78 (46.2%) and 11-of-33 from three. They made 31 of 38 free throws, while Sacramento made 16 of 24.
- Turnovers: Los Angeles committed 24, and Sacramento 25.
- Rebounding: Sacramento won it 62-47, including 20 offensive rebounds to the Lakers’ 10.
Reaves’ first play of the night set the tone. He passed to Doncic cutting to the basket, and Doncic finished through a foul, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Lakers Zone Defense: What Redick Saw
The Lakers switched to a 3-2 matchup zone with Sandro Mamukelashvili at center and Matisse Thybulle on the front line. Redick said the idea came up mid-game. “We haven’t practiced it yet,” he told reporters. “We knew that at some point tonight we were just going to try it. We just talked about it in a huddle, and I thought that group did a really nice job. That’s going to be a weapon for us. We’re going to use zone.”
He explained why it fits this roster. “I’d like the idea of, particularly with Matisse and Ziaire [Williams] and Adou [Thiero] out there, those guys at the front of that, putting early pressure on the ball, back to the zone,” Redick said. “I thought overall their communication was good; you got to be able to communicate in zone just like you do in man.”
The zone complements the man-to-man pressure the Lakers showed in the 127-103 opener in Sacramento, when they forced 26 turnovers.
Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves Click
Doncic shot 6-of-16, made two threes, and finished with three rebounds, three assists and five turnovers. His best moment came in the second quarter, when he made a 31-foot, one-legged three-pointer off a pass from Mamukelashvili, per the Times. He received a technical foul in the third quarter after arguing with an official, and later left the game after an exchange with Sacramento’s Emanuel Sharp.
Reaves was 2-of-7 for eight points, with eight assists and five rebounds. A hesitation move late in the second quarter froze Sharp and led to a baseline layup. Redick said having both on the court is an advantage. “I think there’s good chemistry with each other,” he said. “They like playing together. I think having them together means there’s automatically two ballhandlers on the court. I think that’s like an underrated part of the NBA now.”
He praised Reaves’ playmaking and added that the turnovers from both players were an area to clean up.
What Still Needs Work
Redick named two problems: turnovers and offensive rebounds. “In fairness to some of the stuff that is bothering us right now, the turnovers and the offensive rebounds,” he said. He gave several reasons. “We’ve tried different lineups. Some of that is like us on coaches just wanting to experiment. Some of that is with Walker being out. Some of that is certain guys, I think, just not having a great grasp on our offense.” He added: “We’ve got to be better taking care of the basketball. That’s across the board.”
He was more positive about the start. “I thought our process to start the game was great offensively. We just missed shots,” Redick said, noting a few misses at the rim and some open threes.
Who Played Well
- Sandro Mamukelashvili: 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 3-of-6 from three, four assists and a team-best +13 in 21 minutes off the bench.
- Jake LaRavia: three three-pointers (3-of-6) and double-digit points off the bench, with a +12 in 24 minutes.
- Quentin Grimes: 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, but a team-high six turnovers.
- Adou Thiero: six points, two steals and two blocks in 21 minutes.
- Bronny James: four points and six assists, with four turnovers.
Redick said Grimes, Mamukelashvili and LaRavia “have found a nice rhythm in the offense.” He added that the rotation could look different once Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton are healthy.
For Sacramento, Precious Achiuwa had 18 points on 9-of-13 shooting, Daeqwon Plowden scored 15 off the bench and Maxime Raynaud had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Sharp finished +21 in 21 minutes.
Availability Update
Kessler (left finger) and Sexton (lower body) missed their third straight preseason game. Williams missed his second straight, and Cameron Carr, Dalton Knecht and Arthur Kaluma did not play. “We’ve got to check in tomorrow… It’s not concerning. He’ll play in the preseason,” Redick said of Kessler. He said Williams had “some soreness, but it’s not anything that we’re concerned about.” Redick has not announced who will play Tuesday.
The Lakers have not yet played a preseason game at full strength. Redick wants that before the opener. “Would love to… get some news on some people in the next few days and be able to see what we look like at full strength at least in one of these games,” he said. “I’m very confident we’ll have enough practice time” before opening night.
Watch: JJ Redick’s Postgame Press Conference
The full press conference from Thursday night is on Infanity TV. We also have a short clip of Redick on the zone defense, plus a short with Redick on the Lakers sale, in which he says it “doesn’t keep me up at night.”
Schedule
- Tuesday, Oct. 13: vs. Golden State, T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, 7 p.m. PT
- Friday, Oct. 16: vs. Denver, Crypto.com Arena, 7:30 p.m. PT
- Wednesday, Oct. 21: regular-season opener vs. Golden State
The first question for Tuesday is whether Redick uses the zone against the Warriors, who beat the Lakers 124-98 last Tuesday. The second is whether the rotation looks different with Kessler back.
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