Opposing players told The Athletic’s Dan Woike that if they were game-planning against the Lakers right now, they would trap and pressure the ball as much as possible, Woike reported Oct. 31 on social media. He spoke with them after Golden State’s 112-95 win over Los Angeles on Oct. 30 and did not name them.
The comments followed a game the Lakers had controlled early. Los Angeles led 38-15 after the first and was up 40-15 early in the second. The Warriors tied the game at 53 by halftime. The Lakers fell to 4-2.
Reaves’ Turnovers Come in the Minutes Dončić Misses
Asked after the game about handling double-teams and blitzes, Luka Dončić told Woike, “We’ve got to be way better at this.” Dončić scored 37 points with seven rebounds and five assists in his return after missing the Oct. 28 win over the Clippers.
The Lakers committed 22 turnovers, including eight by Reaves. Golden State turned those mistakes into 27 points. Austin Reaves also had eight turnovers against the Clippers on Oct. 28, so he has 16 in his past two games. He recorded six of his eight turnovers in the first half. After the loss he said, “I have to be better.”
Golden State opened the second quarter with a 13-2 run while Dončić sat. The Lakers called timeout with 9:30 left in the period, still up 40-28, and by then Reaves already had four turnovers.
For the game, Los Angeles was plus-9 in Dončić’s 37 minutes and minus-26 in the 11 minutes he sat. The bench scored 7 points on 3-of-16 shooting. Collin Sexton missed all six of his field-goal attempts and Quentin Grimes took just three shots, making one of them.
The Trap Hits Where the Lakers Are Thinnest
The players Woike spoke with picked a strategy that goes after the part of the rotation that just failed. When Dončić rests, Reaves runs the offense, and his 16 turnovers in two games show he has not handled pressure in that role.
Beating a trap also depends on the players who catch the pass out of it and finish the play. On Oct. 30 those players were mostly reserves, and they shot 3-of-16. That is why Dončić’s 11 minutes on the bench cost more than his 37 minutes on the floor gained.
Fixing this takes more than better ball security from Reaves. The Lakers need lineups without Dončić that can punish a second defender coming at the ball, and they did not have one on Oct. 30.
Sunday Against Toronto Is the First Test of the Fix
The Lakers host the Raptors on Sunday, Nov. 1, at Crypto.com Arena. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. PT. That game is the first test of whether JJ Redick’s lineups without Dončić can handle pressure.
Source: Dan Woike of The Athletic
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