“It suggests the Lakers should play better with (James) going forward, as his bad luck regresses,” wrote ESPN’s Zach Kram when discussing the impact of the last few games and how Luka Doncic can help the 40-year-old. As it turns out, that ‘help’ not only went to LeBron but to the LA franchise as a whole. Ever since the former Dallas Mavericks star was acquired, things have changed drastically for the Los Angeles Lakers.
After all, they went from fighting to secure a playoff qualifying seed to rising to the 2nd seed on the Western Conference points chart! However, while Luka Doncic has improved in handling defensive strategies like Drop Coverage, one persistent issue remains for the Lakers—LeBron James’ high turnover rate. The 40-year-old has been struggling with giveaways, recording 8 turnovers in the Lakers’ recent win against the Clippers and 11 in a prior game against the Trail Blazers. This weakness has consistently hurt the team, giving opponents easy scoring opportunities.
The Lakers’ head coach participated in a presser after the Lakers’ recent 108-102 win against the LA Clippers. Despite the matchup marking the LA franchise’s 6th consecutive win, it was still a close game. Luka Doncic pushed the team further than its rivals, leading the offense with his 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists. During the Q&A session, Redick was asked if the Lakers’ current positioning raises optimism for how things would be once the team becomes smoother with its offense.
Redick replied that it all depends on Luka Doncic. After all, “The nature of playing with Luka Doncic is if you play drop coverage against him, you’re going to die. So, teams are going to ride, or they’re going to blitz. We have to be better, and we’re going to figure that out. It helps when you can play all shooting lineups. I’m not concerned about that”.
Drop Coverage, as many basketball enthusiasts would be aware, is reportedly a defensive scheme against a pick-and-roll. It helps to prevent the ball-handler from getting to the rim. Drop Coverage was famously used against Luka Doncic during the 2024 Western Conference Finals. During Game 1 of the series, featuring the Dallas Mavericks taking on the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rudy Gobert initiated the defense strategy as the Slovenian attempted a pick-and-roll. Daniel Gafford set a high ball screen, and Gobert stayed at the 3-point line, getting ready for Doncic’s attack.
Later, Gobert fell back to the free-throw line. He contained Doncic long enough so that Jaden McDaniels could fight around the screen and recover the ball. These and later moves used by Gobert and McDaniels confused Doncic. The Slovenian executed a little sidestep to get a decent look. However, Gobert bought McDaniels enough time to contest the shot and force a miss.
Feb 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) is greeted by head coach JJ Redick during a time out against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
It may have been that moment in the Western Conference Finals or something else. Eventually, Luka Doncic realized his trouble in breaking through a drop coverage. Now, as Redick has confirmed, the player faces no trouble with the same. Working through his weaknesses is one way that Luka Doncic can ensure that he can continue delivering for the Lakers. Furthermore, it helps the team to gain at least some advantage, as LeBron James’s inability to fix his weakness continues to trouble the team.
JJ Redick criticizes the high turnover count as LeBron James and Luka Doncic record several slips
There is no denying that the recent Lakers-Clippers game could have gone the other way, too. The LA franchise could have suffered a defeat after winning the last 5 games. Therefore, JJ Redick discussed the issues that put his team behind at certain moments in the game. The head coach took a shot at the turnovers. After all, the Lakers had recorded 16 of them, while the Clippers had recorded 12. The team’s lead scorers were responsible for the most slip-ups. LeBron James recorded 8 turnovers while Luka Doncic recorded 6 (The other 2 turnovers were from Jaxson Hayes). More than the turnovers, it was how the Clippers used them.
“The turnovers once again hurt us. (They) scored 20 points off our turnovers,” said Redick. “I think there’s probably…. it wasn’t a play that was more emblematic of our effort than um when it was 93-88, I think there’s seven something to go. LeBron misses a 22 foot two-pointer. Vando gets the rebound, we get it back to LeBron, he misses a floater. Trey gets the rebound, we kick it back to LeBron, he misses the three from the corner, Vando gets the rebound. We end up getting it to Luka, Trey’s over in the right corner, he pins in for LeBron, he hits that three”.
Dec 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks to head coach JJ Redick against the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
JJ Redick did not specifically call out LeBron James over the turnovers. However, the criticism might have placed him in a hypothetical spotlight. After all, the player had averaged 4.5 turnovers last month. Despite winning against the Portland Trail Blazers recently, LeBron James ended up recording 11 turnovers. His recent 8 turnovers do not speak well of a potential improvement. Therefore, while Luka Doncic has fixed his issues with the Drop Coverage, maybe LeBron James can follow suit and lessen his turnover rate.
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