Lakers head coach JJ Redick promised changes in the rotation before LA played Sacramento and he delivered. With the Lakers down a ball handler due to Austin Reaves’ calf injury, Redick relied more on Nick Smith Jr. and adjusted Luka Dončić‘s minutes.
Typically, Luka plays the entire opening quarter, but in the Lakers’ win against the Kings, he was out during the opening period at the 2:31 mark.
It’s safe to say the change worked as the Lakers won and Luka had 34 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
After the game, Redick elaborated on the change and how staggering Luka’s minutes keep either Dončić or LeBron James on the floor at all times.
“I think, particularly with AR out, it just gives more time for those guys to sort of be the quarterback, without the other one,” Luka said. “Having said that, we ran a lot of stuff for them to be in two-man action, for them to be part of the play together tonight.
“It’s not like we’re trying to keep them apart. It’s just kind of the nature of what we’re trying to do and we’re going to do this for the foreseeable future and just see how it goes. But I thought, it was good tonight. It’s a longer stretch for LeBron. It’s a shorter stretch for Luka, but it’s not going to diminish either of their overall playing time.”
With Reaves out, the Lakers will become a team with two main offensive initiators in Luka and LeBron. So, it makes sense to always make sure one of them is always on the floor and adjusting minutes so that can happen.
While this is the new normal for LA, Luka has done this before. When the Lakers beat the Suns earlier in December with Reaves out, Luka exited the first quarter early, ensuring either he or LeBron were on the floor at all times.
So, for the time being, expect more of this moving forward, and hopefully it’s as successful against the rest of the league as it was when they played the Kings.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
