Austin Reaves described it as “fun.” Luka Doncic called the Lakers’ effortless-looking offense as “flowing.” And this is still the early stages of development for a team that brought in nine new players.
Through eight games, the Lakers have the most dynamic offense in the NBA. Led by Doncic, the Lakers are second in scoring with 122.5 points per game and first in offensive rating with 121.9 points per 100 possessions. The starting lineup of Doncic, Reaves, Walker Kessler, Ziaire Williams and Matisse Thybulle has a league-best 135.5 offensive rating among five-man groups that have played at least 40 minutes together entering Wednesday’s game at Sacramento.
“Everything’s as expected,” guard Quentin Grimes said Monday after the Lakers hung 138 points in a 21-point win over the Miami Heat. “Winning, everybody’s getting involved, everybody’s making the right play, getting a lot of assists.”
The Lakers (6-2) had 39 assists against the Heat, the most during JJ Redick’s head-coaching tenure. Doncic is on a historic scoring binge; he is the first Laker since Kobe Bryant in 2007 to have five consecutive games of 35 or more points. While putting up a seemingly ho-hum 42 points against Miami, he also had a season-high 13 assists.
“It’s a really good offense that we’re playing right now,” Redick said. “And a lot of that, of course, is Doncic and what he’s able to do and bend the defense.”
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer at 38.3 points per game, does his damage early. He typically plays all 12 minutes of the opening quarter and leads the league with 15 points a game in the first quarter. Once he gets his shot going, teams send double teams to force the ball out of his hands. That’s when Doncic can be particularly dangerous.
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Doncic has always been lauded for his superior court vision. But the Lakers are still learning to see the same picture. The Lakers had 14 turnovers, including 11 from Doncic and Reaves, during a preseason game against the Denver Nuggets, who were aggressively trapping the Lakers’ ballhandlers. The Lakers threw away a 25-point second-quarter lead on Oct. 30 when the Golden State Warriors ratcheted up the ball pressure.
Doncic’s five turnovers a game are the second most in the league, and Reaves is third with 4.6 turnovers per game.
Some players are new to being on a team with guards who get blitzed nearly every play, Reaves said. It requires players to not only be comfortable making decisions to pass, drive or shoot, but they have to choose quickly. A moment’s hesitation gives away the four-on-three advantage created by the double-team.
Redick praised Grimes’ ability to keep advantages by driving decisively. Forward Sandro Mamukelashvili is also great at it, Redick said, as is guard Collin Sexton, who knows no speed other than full. The Lakers have also finished their advantages with Thybulle and Williams making27 of 58 (46.6%) three-point attempts combined.
“That’s the beauty of our team,” Williams said. “You could put different guys at different spots and everyone’s able to make a play. All our guys are just dynamic and versatile. And everyone just wants to make the right play. No one wants to only shoot, there’s no egos. And that’s the fun part about it, you know? We all love to see each other succeed.”
Williams missed three games because of a sore left foot but returned Monday with nine points, two rebounds and two assists off the bench. When Jake LaRavia jumped into the starting lineup, the Lakers were just as effective offensively as their first-choice lineup. When Doncic, Reaves, Kessler, Thybulle and LaRavia are together, the Lakers’ 144.3 points per 100 possessions ranks first among lineups that have played at least 30 minutes.
But numbers don’t normalize until about 250 minutes, Redick believes.
“I think there’s always room for improvement,” he said Monday.
The Lakers have the most room for improvement on the defensive side. Their defensive rating of 114 points allowed per 100 possessions is tied with the Clippers for 20th in the NBA. They still rank 28th in rebounding, despite three consecutive double-doubles from Kessler, who responded after Redick challenged the center to be a larger rebounding presence.
“This team can become a great team,” Redick said before Monday’s win over the Heat. “That requires patience, that requires a lot of coaching and teaching and buy-in, and so that whole process takes time.”
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
