On most nights, the Lakers rely on LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves to carry majority of the offensive load. Even their teammates have no problem taking a backseat and deferring to the Big Three. But last night was different. With their superstars struggling, Dorian Finney-Smith stepped up and dropped 20 points off the bench, leading his team to a close victory against the Rockets. Despite his breakout performance, JJ Redick and Luka were left wanting more!
Well, last night was unusual for DFS because he got eleven shot attempts from deep range, much higher than his season average of 4.4. Of course, it was because he had the hot hand and drained six threes on arguably his best offensive night for the Lakers. But Redick wanted Dorian to take more shots. “It should have been 14. He should have shot 14. He passed up three.” The head coach said during the postgame presser.
He then revealed his trust in the veteran forward, “I think his teammates have a ton of confidence in him. We as a coaching staff have a ton of confidence. He needs gentle reminders sometimes to keep shooting.” One of the reasons Rob Pelinka traded for Smith in December was because he was a solid three and D guy, shooting 43.5% from deep range in Brooklyn. His efficiency has dropped to 37.5% since joining the Lakers. But Dorian is still an elite shooter and JJ wants him to be more aggressive from three.
Redick also revealed why Dorian passing up shots upsets him, “Particularly, look the type of shots that he gets whether that’s a corner 3 or a pick and pop versus a 5, they’re open shots. We’re not gonna get a better shot. He has to be willing to unload the clip every night.” With Luka, LeBron, and Austin grabbing all the attention, DFS is usually left wide open on most of his shot attempts. So, the Lakers would be better if he chooses to shoot rather than make the extra pass.
Even Doncic feels the same as he said postgame, “I told Dorian he gotta shoot more. He was open like three or four more times, he didn’t wanna shoot. That’s what I told him.” Hopefully, DFS got the message, as his aggressive shooting can be extremely beneficial on nights like yesterday when the Big Three are not clicking.
Luka Doncic makes shocking confession about Lakers Big 3’s performance as he reveals mindset for remaining games
Had it not been for DFS’ scoring outburst, the LA team might have ended up on the losing end. That’s because the LeBron-Austin-Luka trio combined for only 48 points as all three struggled to find their groove. It even led to a shocking postgame confession from Luka, “I think that was our worst game as a trio so far.” Only a couple of days ago against the Grizzlies, the Big Three played arguably their best game together, combining for 85 points. And it looked like they were finally in sync.
Feb 10, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) and forward LeBron James (23) on the court in the first half against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
However, Luka’s feelings have raised doubts yet again. But maybe this was just a bad game and things will go back to normal in the locker room. The important thing is—Lakers won. Despite his postgame confession, Luka left the game with a positive outlook, “I think we shared the ball great. Everybody was getting shots. Everybody was involved so that’s how we gotta play.” Yes, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent shooting twelve threes and combing for 40 points made up for the Big 3’s off night.
With only seven regular season games remaining, Doncic has his focus clear, “Just go game by game. Every game is gonna be a battle and we go and try to win every game.” As long as the Lakers end up winning, it doesn’t matter who scores the most points or gets the best stats because the team’s eventual goal is to win a championship. Thoughts?
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