JJ Redick said the Los Angeles Lakers still have “a lot of room to grow” defensively after holding off Detroit 121-116 on Sunday, despite allowing the Pistons to erase most of a 26-point deficit.
The Lakers improved to 9-2 with their fifth consecutive victory, and Redick praised his team’s composure during Detroit’s comeback. “We just showed a lot of poise throughout,” he said. “It’s a game of mistakes.”
Redick was pleased with the opening quarter, when Los Angeles outscored Detroit 38-14 and forced eight turnovers. He also highlighted the Lakers’ response in the fourth, when they committed only three turnovers as the Pistons increased their defensive pressure.
“Outside of the third and particularly, you know, those four straight possessions in the third, I thought we did a good job” handling Detroit’s activity and pressure, Redick said. He added that the team stayed focused despite Daniss Jenkins’ scoring burst.
Jenkins finished with a career-high 31 points, making eight of 15 three-pointers. Redick said his players kept competing despite Jenkins’ unexpected scoring burst.
Walker Kessler supplied another major contribution with 12 points and 16 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. Redick called his work on both ends “awesome” and said he had been “relentless” at keeping possessions alive over the previous six or seven games.
“I love the consistency right now for him,” Redick said. “I’m going to protect this rim and do it over and over and over again.” Kessler also recorded three blocks.
Austin Reaves led Los Angeles with 43 points, shooting 14-for-27 and making all 11 free throws. He added five rebounds, four assists and one turnover in 37 minutes.
Redick credited the Lakers’ multiple ball handlers for helping Reaves manage Detroit’s pressure with Luka Doncic unavailable. “The other big part of that was having multiple ball handlers,” he said, as the Lakers moved Reaves between on-ball and off-ball roles.
“I thought AR’s decision-making, his aggression, his, you know, just consistently touching the paint and getting downhill, was fantastic tonight,” Redick said. He also praised Reaves and Collin Sexton for making their free throws late.
Redick said the Lakers have developed a disruptive defensive identity, but identified transition defense and defensive rebounding as areas for improvement. “We felt like coming into the season that we could be a team that was disruptive within our stuff,” he said.
Los Angeles has been a top-10 half-court defense by points per possession, according to Redick. However, Detroit scored 14 transition points on 13 possessions in the third quarter, with some chances coming after Lakers misses rather than turnovers.
“There’s three phases to our defense and we still have a lot of room to grow in the first phase, the first eight seconds and the last phase, which is finishing possessions,” Redick said. “It’s that middle phase that we’re good right now.”
Redick also explained why he sticks to planned rotations rather than reacting to every momentum swing. “We stick with our matrixes,” he said, saying consistency matters for players.
Quentin Grimes left with a finger injury, but Redick said his X-ray was negative. The Lakers visit Atlanta on Monday, while Detroit hosts Washington.
