LOS ANGELES — If an 82-game season can guarantee a team one thing, it’s disruption. And the Lakers have already had their fair share in just eight games.
Los Angeles forward Ziaire Williams missed the last three games with left foot soreness before being made active ahead of their 138-117 win against the Miami Heat on Monday. Williams, who impressed in the starting lineup to open the season, came off the bench for Jake LaRavia.
It could have been injury management. It could have also been matchup-dependent
against the ever-so-powerful Giannis Antetokounmpo. LaRavia started in Williams’s place during the three games he missed. Not only did the starting lineup with LaRavia hold up, it outperformed the opening night lineup.
Head coach JJ Redick is aware of what the numbers say, but assures that it’s more about the team’s overall balance rather than LaRavia simply being a better fit with the lineup than Williams.
“I just feel like there’s balance with those lineups,” Redick said pregame on Monday. “With Luka [Dončić] and [Austin Reaves] being the primary creators and [Walker Kessler]‘s rim rolling and running. The other guys being able to guard multiple positions. … It’s not surprising to me that Jake being in that lineup with those guys is good for us, because there’s intrinsic knowledge with what we’re trying to do. Just having another guy out there who knows our stuff has been helpful.”
It’s the balance Redick has been trying to manage since the Lakers turned over their roster this offseason: meshing the new with the old. It’s a process that will take patience and time, as he’s been lamenting so often this season.
But the results have been good nonetheless. In 51 minutes over four games when Williams shares the floor with the starters (Dončić, Reaves, Kessler and Matisse Thybulle), the Lakers have a 135.5 offensive rating and a 115.1 defensive rating for a 20.4 net rating. When LaRavia has been in Williams’ spot, those numbers surge to a 144.3 offensive rating, a 90.0 defensive rating and a 54.3 net rating in 37 minutes.
Folks, those numbers are ridiculous.
For all the talk of balance and lineup optionality, it really all just boils down to Dončić continuing to be the best player in the world. The “supernova” — as Redick called him on Sunday — added another 42 points and 13 assists to his season total on Monday, dicing up every look Miami gave him on offense.
Dončić is now averaging 38.8 points, 8.1 assists and 21.3 assist points created in seven games, meaning Dončić is responsible for 60.1 points per game.
Redick added on Dončić postgame, “It’s a really good offense that we’re playing right now, and a lot of that, of course, is Dončić and what he’s able to do. Bend the defense and his shot making creates a lot of problems, and then he can make every pass.”
Williams, who scored nine points in fifteen minutes against Miami, is one of the biggest beneficiaries of Dončić’s galatctic playamking. In Brooklyn last season, without a player of Dončić‘s shot-creating ilk, Williams shot 34.3% from deep with an overall 3-point shot quality that ranked in the league’s 49th percentile, according to BBall Index.
In five games this season, Williams is shooting 47.6% from beyond the arc.
“Very easy looks. Way easier than in the past,” Williams said Monday. “They’re sending two to Luka, two to AR every time. So, it’s just swing, swing, one more, and I get to set my feet, get to square up the ball. And I put a lot of work in this summer. I trust my work. I’m confident in my shot, my shot feels great.”
It’s not just Williams. Kessler is averaging 14.4 points on 71.4% from the field, the best percentage since his rookie season. Thybulle is on pace for a career-best season from on 3-pointers (45.9%). Reaves is putting together the best shooting splits of his career (53.9/44.4/86.5), taking advantage of the pressure Dončić attracts.
Los Angeles’s offense is humming at a rate that rivals any other in the league. It’s spearheaded by perhaps the best player in the world and bolstered by a bevy of guards, wings and bigs that can shoot, pass and dribble.
Rob Pelinka and Redick’s had a clear plan this offseason, but even they may not have imagined it working this quickly and this effectively.
You can follow Connor on Twitter at @cmorenoNBA.
