JJ Redick is trying to take some of the grind out of Luka Doncic’s night before the Lakers even get the ball into their offense.
After Wednesday’s win over the Sacramento Kings, Redick laid out a simple idea: let other Lakers advance the ball, use movement and screens to create an opening, and bring Doncic into the action with less pressure on the way up the floor. The goal is to keep him from having to absorb that same full-court attention possession after possession.
“He’s doing a great job of playing off the ball,” Redick said.
That matters because the workload Redick is talking about is bigger than shot volume or minutes. It’s the burden of starting every trip the same way, with Doncic having to fight through pressure just to get the offense moving. With another Laker handling the initial push, the possession can begin somewhere else and still end with Doncic in position to attack.
The Lakers have already seen why that can be useful. After their October loss to Golden State, Dan Woike reported that opposing players viewed trapping and pressuring Los Angeles as an effective approach.
Redick’s answer gives the defense a different picture to deal with. If the same player is not always bringing the ball across half court, the defense can’t settle into the same starting point every time.
That changes the chessboard a bit. Doncic’s defender has to stay aware of his movement away from the ball, while the defender on the ball-handler has a separate job.
Add a screen, and now there’s another decision to make before Doncic even begins his dribble. A defender chasing over the top can open a clean catch-and-go.
A switch can hand the offense a matchup it wants. Overplay the action, and a cut to the rim can appear.
None of that guarantees a perfect shot. But it does let the Lakers begin possessions without asking Doncic to create everything from a standstill.
The catch is obvious: the other players have to handle the ball cleanly and make the right read. If the entry pass is sloppy or the possession bogs down after Doncic gives it up, the whole idea loses its value. Redick’s plan depends on movement with purpose and reliable decision-making from the rest of the group.
This wasn’t something the Lakers just dreamed up after the fact, either. An Oct. 14 film breakdown by Silver Screen and Roll’s Raj Chipalu showed preseason possessions built around having another teammate initiate before Doncic got involved.
One sequence started with a pass to Austin Reaves and a screen from Kevon Looney that helped Doncic receive the ball on the move, eventually flowing into a pick-and-roll. Another had Jake LaRavia deliver a handoff, then watched two defenders commit to Doncic before he found LaRavia cutting to the basket.
Chipalu also pointed to a possession where Sandro Mamukelashvili advanced the ball and connected with Doncic on a backdoor cut.
Those clips show the range of ways the Lakers can use this. Doncic can catch and go, draw extra attention and pass, or punish a defender who leans too hard toward the ball. The point is that his teammates are helping create the opening instead of leaving him to manufacture it alone.
Redick also made it clear that he wants more than just setup work from his guards and wings. In the same postgame session, he stressed getting into the paint and named Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Reaves and Doncic as players he wants attacking off the dribble.
“We’re a more dynamic team when we can touch the paint,” Redick said.
That message ties directly into the ball-handling plan. If another player drives and forces help, the defense has to shift.
The next pass then arrives against a moving defense instead of one already planted in place. And when the shot is there, Redick wants it taken.
He recently warned that players could lose minutes for passing up open 3s after the Toronto game.
The two ideas fit together neatly: attack the lane when it’s open, and don’t turn down the shot once the defense gives it up. If a possession creates a clean look and the ball gets swung back into Doncic’s hands too late, the advantage can disappear.
Even with all that, Doncic remains the center of it all. His recent scoring line says plenty: 45 against Toronto, 42 against Miami and 40 against Sacramento.
The Lakers aren’t trying to make him less important. They’re trying to make the work around him less punishing, so he can finish possessions and make the tough reads without carrying every step that leads there.
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