Redick

ATLANTA — JJ Redick was already preaching one type of Japanese philosophy, harping to his team about the concept of “kaizen” to improve each day. Off the court, the head coach found inspiration in another Japanese phrase.

Lakers players and coaches have used PechaKucha presentations to facilitate team bonding this season. The slideshows, which come from the Japanese word for chitchat, could be a secret to the team’s hot start as the Lakers (7-2) have won five consecutive games entering a five-game road that starts Saturday in Atlanta at 5 p.m. PST against the Hawks.

The Lakers have pieced together one of the NBA’s most efficient offenses despite injuries keeping LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic in and out of the lineup, relying on a strong team bond that’s developed quickly through an even faster form of communication.

PechaKucha presentations are traditionally 20 slides, each with a photo. The speaker has 20 seconds to explain each slide for a total presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

The Lakers’ version consists of five slides: where you’re from; favorite basketball memory; person, event or thing that has impacted your life; your non-basketball happy place; and dealer’s choice.

“A lot of times most of the interactions you’ll have with your teammates is on the basketball court,” forward Jake LaRavia said. “So it’s good to just kind of either learn some stuff about them outside of basketball, like hobbies and stuff like that, where they come from. And that just helps you kind of understand who the person is a little bit better.”

Assistant coach Scott Brooks started his presentation with a photo of a walnut, symbolizing the walnut farm he worked on during the weekends to help his family make ends meet. LaRavia showed a photo of his driveway as the origin of his basketball journey. Doncic spoke about how his daughter Gabriela changed his life.

One coach and one player present, and then they each nominate the next coach or player to go. With about half of the players and coaches left, Redick said he’s already noticing the holdouts actively planning their presentations before their nominations.

“We’re just constantly encouraging and empowering our guys to get connected,” Redick said. “I believe if you’re connected off the floor, you’re connected on the floor. You need buy-in to that. I’m not trying to take credit for my staff here. It’s the guys on the team, they’re bought into that.”

Doncic, for one, isn’t sold. He deadpanned that he doesn’t think the exercise helps.

Just the fact that Doncic made the joke meant it’s working.

Settled after last season’s jarring trade, the 26-year-old’s personality has started to emerge among his teammates. He is a sarcastic jokester who expresses love for his teammates by threading passes to them through pinhole-sized gaps in the defense and then trash talking them right soon after.

Lakers coach JJ Redick, with injured forward LeBron James next to him, questions a call along with guard Marcus Smart during the game against the Spurs on Wednesday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Doncic’s smiling antics, whether he’s trying to sit on Austin Reaves’ lap on the sideline or swishing halfcourt shots in a contest with Reaves, Maxi Kleber and staff members, show just how connected the superstar feels to the team.

“Honestly, the feeling is I’m enjoying, very much, playing with these guys,” Doncic said. “AR [Reaves] can’t play. We’re still missing LeBron. So this team has a big potential. But everybody who steps on court, gives maximum, man, everybody. So it’s very enjoyable to play.”

Reaves is present on the road trip but will miss a third consecutive game Saturday. The Lakers ruled him out after practice Friday as his right groin injury progressed to a strain after previously being categorized simply as soreness.

James did not make the trip to Atlanta. He progressed to on-court basketball activities this week after missing four weeks because of a sciatica on his right side. He was playing one-on-one with coaches, Redick said. A stint with the South Bay Lakers is on the table, but no decision has been made.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer hasn’t played a single minute for the Lakers yet. Reaves, averaging 31.1 points and 9.3 assists, has missed the last two wins, and Doncic has played in only half of the games. But the Lakers are still fifth in the NBA in offensive rating.

“It shows how professional we are,” guard Marcus Smart said of the team’s chemistry despite constantly changing personnel. “I think a lot of people, especially who aren’t in the brotherhood, they forget that you build a relationship with guys, and then one guy or a couple guys, you get traded and you got to rebuild another one. You don’t understand how tough that is, how much of a toll that takes.”

Just as Smart spoke, Doncic appeared behind the group of reporters, clapping loudly. Then Doncic made sure to put on the record that he would beat Smart at a team-building competition that night. Both smiled as they walked away.

Marcus Smart couldn’t believe the stat line. Five steals and two blocks for who?

“Lukaaaaa,” Smart said, elongating Luka Doncic’s name while smiling toward his star teammate who was sitting with his feet in an ice bucket with ice bags wrapped around his knees.

Doncic matched his career high for steals in a regular-season game Wednesday. The guard averaging 40 points per game claimed his defense was the only thing he did well on a night when he finished one rebound short of a triple-double. While collecting 35 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, he was an inefficient nine-for-27 from the field and four-for-11 from three. He missed four free throws, turned the ball over four times and, after picking up his fifth foul with 7:58 remaining in the fourth, nearly fouled out.

The last fact took Rui Hachimura by surprise.

“I’ve never seen him like that,” Hachimura said. “But you know, he’s trying to be more aggressive [on defense] and that’s what we need from him, too.”

Redick said Doncic had a few games when he started slow defensively in terms of physicality and engagement, but has been overall “really good” this season. Even when he was switched on to Spurs star Victor Wembanyama or point guard Stephon Castle, Doncic still competed well.

“There wasn’t matador defense,” Redick said. “He still guarded. And that was huge. The reason we won the game is because we guarded in the fourth quarter. Our fourth-quarter defense was the No. 1 reason we won the game.”

The Lakers limited the Spurs to 36.8% shooting from the field during the fourth quarter while forcing six turnovers. Wembanyama was held to 19 points on labored five-for-14 shooting with eight rebounds. He was nine-for-11 on free throws and fouled out with 1:40 remaining when he bowled over Hachimura.

Of course Luka Doncic made the one that didn’t count.

On a frigid shooting night when the star guard made just one three-pointer on 11 attempts, Doncic swished a 40-footer on a dead ball that elicited a roar from the Crypto.com Arena.

He instead made his impact in other ways.

Doncic overcame his bad shooting to still collect his first triple-double of the season, notching 29 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds in the Lakers’ 130-120 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday. Fellow guard Austin Reaves was also struggling with his shot, making just four of 14 three-point attempts, but rallied for 26 points and 11 assists to just three turnovers.

Although their stars slogged through concurrent off nights, the Lakers (5-2) still shot 50.5% from the field. They tallied 33 assists to 11 turnovers. They won their third consecutive game.

“We did a lot of really good things and it could have been even better if me and Luka would’ve made a shot,” Reaves deadpanned. “But supporting cast and everybody around that played really well.”

Forward Jake LaRavia, who turns 24 on Tuesday, scored in double digits for the third consecutive game off the bench, finishing with 25 points — two shy of his season high — and eight rebounds. He’s averaged 21.7 points per game in the last three games.

Doncic, who missed three games with minor finger and leg injuries, scored 40 points in each of his first three games this season. Only Wilt Chamberlain had ever started a season with three consecutive 40-point games. But Doncic was happy to sacrifice the scoring streak Sunday.

“We get a win,” Doncic said, “[it] doesn’t matter how many I scored.”

Doncic and Reaves struggled in the first quarter, shooting a combined two for seven from the field. Yet the Lakers still led by seven as the star duo combined for eight assists.

Center Jaxson Hayes was one of the main beneficiaries in that span, scoring 11 points on five-of-five shooting. He had a ferocious one-handed dunk off a Doncic assist that got Hayes so amped up that he head-butted the basket stanchion in celebration. He sank his first three-pointer since March 27, 2023, stepping confidently into a shot that put the Lakers up 23-13 and forced the Heat to call an early timeout.

Hayes finished with 15 points and five rebounds in his first start of the year as Deandre Ayton was held out because of back spasms. Ayton’s back flared up during the Lakers’ win in Memphis on Friday, causing him to sit out the entire second half. He was available to return in the fourth quarter, coach JJ Redick said after the game, but with the Lakers feeding off Hayes and Jarred Vanderbilt at center, the team didn’t want to risk further injury.

The Heat (3-3) finished the third quarter on a 20-7 run to pull within four points heading into the fourth quarter. Former UCLA star Jaime Jaquez Jr., playing in front of his hometown crowd, cut the lead to two with an emphatic one-handed put-back dunk 58 seconds in the fourth quarter. A hush fell over the Lakers crowd.

But Reaves helped quell the comeback effort.

He stumbled while trying to dribble behind his legs, but recovered to shoot a fadeaway mid-range jumper with 1.6 seconds left in the shot clock that put the Lakers up by six with 5:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. Less than 20 seconds later, Reaves threw a lob from just inside mid-court to a soaring LaRavia, who brought the crowd to its feet with a two-handed dunk.

When Luka Doncic plays in his first exhibition game of the season for the Lakers against the Phoenix Suns Tuesday night, Coach JJ Redick said the plan with his star is pretty simple.

“Give him the ball,” Redick said, laughing.

Redick paused for a second.

“You talking about minutes?” he asked.

Redick said they are “still working through what that looks like” with the Lakers’ staff and Doncic’s team.

“I think very likely it’ll be some form of a ramp-up from tomorrow to whenever the second game is that he plays in,” Redick said. “What that looks like in terms of the total minute, I don’t know.”

But one thing is for certain when Doncic steps on the court with his teammates.

“Yeah, he’ll touch the basketball,” Redick said.

The Lakers then play a back-to-back game Wednesday night in Las Vegas against the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic’s old team, but it’s highly unlikely he plays in that game.

The Lakers finish their preseason against the Sacramento Kings Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, which is when Doncic probably will play, especially since he said last week that he wanted to play in two preseason games.

The Lakers open the regular season Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors at home and that is the main thing Doncic is getting ready for.

He’s done more in practice, giving his teammates a view of what Doncic is like.

“Oh, he’s moving great,” Jarred Vanderbilt said. “Everything that I’ve seen from him, he’s being vocal. He’s leading the charge. He’s being everything we need him to be right now. So, we’re happy to have him out there right now during this week, him getting some good practices and running with us, and just starting to build that momentum towards the regular season.”

Etc.

Redick said Marcus Smart, who has been recovering from an Achilles tendinopathy injury, will play against the Suns. … Redick said Maxi Kleber (quad) participated in the Lakers’ stay-ready game Monday.

The question caused Lakers coach JJ Redick to say he was “not being combative” with his answer.

Asked if the Lakers are missing opportunities to practice more and build on-court chemistry because of their busy six-game preseason slate, Redick was quick to wonder why reporters were so concerned about the situation.

“You guys are really harping on this,” Redick responded.

So, Redick was asked, is it a thing or is it not a thing?

“I’m not being combative right now,” Redick said. “I just want to acknowledge that you guys, like the last four days, like it’s becoming a little bit obsessive with all these questions about opportunities lost. So, I will answer it again. These are the cards that we were dealt. I sure would like everybody to be healthy.”

Making the most out of the situation, the Lakers held off the Golden State Warriors 126-116 Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena despite not playing with LeBron James (sciatica), Luka Doncic and Marcus Smart (Achilles tendinopathy).

Redick said the plan is for Smart to “get two games [in] this week.”

The Lakers have three remaining preseason games: Tuesday at Phoenix, Wednesday at Las Vegas against the Dallas Mavericks and Friday against the visiting Sacramento Kings — four games over a six-day span.

Redick was reminded that the Lakers as an organization have chosen to play six preseason games — the maximum allowed by the NBA.

“It’s something to be discussed I think going forward,” Redick said. “I think it’s awesome. I really do because we got to play in Palm Springs and I think it’s awesome that we get to play in Vegas and I recognize that there’s Lakers fans all over the world that maybe don’t get the chance to see us play.

“You hope that we can find some sort of balance in the future to get more practice time, less travel time. I’m sure at some point we’ll be one of the teams going overseas, so then that adds another scenario.”

Lakers guard Bronny James, front, and Golden State forward Trayce Jackson-Davis battle for a rebound in the first half Sunday of the Lakers’ 126-116 preseason win at Crypto.com Arena.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Redick did say for training camp purposes, practice tends to be more helpful in team building than preseason games.

“I think more practices would be beneficial,” Redick said. “I do think the exposure to a game situation and playing against an opponent is very beneficial. You don’t have a lot of days anymore and to try to cram six games in there [and] four games in six nights, it’s significantly difficult.”

Against the Warriors on Sunday, Austin Reaves (21 points), Dalton Knecht (16), Rui Hachimura (16) and Deandre Ayton (14 points, eight rebounds, five assists) were on top of their games.

For Ayton, who was six for eight from the field and had a blocked shot, his joy came from the fans cheering him on. Sure, it was only a preseason game, but Ayton loved the vibe and the positive energy he felt.

It was Ayton’s first time playing at Crypto.com Arena since he signed a two-year, $16.6-million deal with the Lakers.

“It hit me in the whole arena today just hearing the fans and everybody cheering,” Ayton said. “It was kind of an unusual sound other than boos. … It was everybody showing love and welcoming me to L.A. I played so freely and I had a lot of fun.”

At some point during the Lakers’ preseason, Luka Doncic will play in a game.

The question is when.

Even after being a full participant in practice Saturday, Lakers coach JJ Redick said that Doncic was “TBD” (to be determined) when asked if his star guard would play in Sunday’s exhibition game against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.

Redick said Austin Reaves will play and that Marcus Smart will see action in his first preseason game of the season.

The Lakers will play six preseason games, three of them coming after the game against the Warriors.

After practice, Doncic was asked when he would play.

“I don’t know yet,” he said. “We got to talk about it — JJ and my team. So, I don’t know yet. But I’m probably going to end up playing two games of the preseason.”

When the regular season starts Oct. 21 at home against the Warriors, Doncic will not have running mate LeBron James beside him.

James was diagnosed with sciatica nerve issue on his right side, the Lakers announced to the media Thursday, saying that he’ll be re-evaluated in approximately three to four weeks.

James and Doncic formed a great partnership when they played together after the shocking blockbuster trade last February.

Not having James to start the season has to be unsettling for Doncic and the Lakers.

“It’s a big change,” Doncic said. “He’s a great player. He can help us a lot. But at the end of the day, our mentality needs to be next man up. We got a group of guys that have been practicing and hopefully LeBron can join us as soon as possible. We are going to obviously need him. But our mentality has got to be next man up. That’s it.”

Doncic will get plenty of help from Reaves, Smart, Deandre Ayton, Jared Vanderbilt and others with James out.

Still, the assumption is that Doncic will have to carry a heavy load with James sidelined.

“No. I don’t view it that way,” Doncic said. “I just want to play basketball. If I do less, if I do more, whatever it takes for me to get a win.”

James hasn’t practiced at all, but Doncic said that hasn’t stopped the two of them from figuring out the team can still function at a high level.

“It’s not everything about on the court. That’s what I’ve been saying,” Doncic said. “It’s about chemistry off the court, too. So, obviously, now it’s a little more off the court, but while we watched practices this week, we talked a lot about it.”

Lakers keep moving ahead without James

They had known over the summer that James had been dealing with “the nerve irritation,” Redick said, and so it wasn’t a total surprise James is going to be out with a sciatica issue.

Redick said James has been on the court “every day” doing individual work. He just hasn’t been able to practice with his teammates.

Redick was asked how James’ inability to participate in practice affected his game planning for practice and going into the season knowing that he won’t be available for a while.

” No, no effect on practice planning,” Redick said. “And we haven’t game-planned yet, so, no effect.”

Redick had not put too much emphasis on his starting lineup during training camp and during the preseason games.

But with James turning 41 in December, entering his 23rd season and being injured in training camp, Redick was asked if he could foresee having a lineup with James starting and another with him out.

“Potentially. Yeah,” he said. “Something that certainly has crossed my mind in the last couple days. Yeah…You hope that he’s back soon. That’s, those things are, those things can be tricky. So it, I don’t think it’s …

“We knew this going into camp, so it wasn’t like it’s changed anything for how we want to practice or what our philosophies are with the preseason games. It is unclear who’s gonna be, what the starting lineup is gonna be. That’s the reality until he is back. We’ll have to figure that out.”

Lakers star LeBron James will miss the first regular-season game as he continues to deal with a sciatica issue, the team announced Thursday afternoon. James will be reevaluated in three to four weeks.

The 40-year-old is entering an unprecedented 23rd NBA season. He had yet to practice with his teammates during training camp and he did not play in the Lakers’ first two preseason games.

Before the team’s announcement, coach JJ Redick told reporters at practice Thursday that “he’s on his own timeline.”

Added Redick, “You’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt. That’s a shame, but that’s just the reality. … No one has got any time with LeBron [James] hasn’t been on the court with the team, but that’s just the reality.”

While fellow star Luka Doncic has slowly been ramping up his conditioning following a busy summer that included playing for Slovenia in the EuroBasket tournament, Redick said he hopes that Doncic will play in at least one preseason game.

The Lakers have four more preseason games, the next on Sunday against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.

What Luka Doncic did for his Lakers teammates was unique and different but no less impactful. It was a view inside the superstar guard’s way of leading the team.

In a team-building event Doncic organized, he took his teammates to a Porsche Driving Experience after practice Tuesday. He covered the entire cost of the event in which his teammates tested Porsche models on a track.

That so impressed Lakers center Deandre Ayton, bringing a smile to his face when asked about Doncic’s gesture.

“I truly appreciate Luka for that,” Ayton said. “I’ve never done that before, where the star players really look out for the team like that. Something like that is actually crazy. I’ve never heard of it or been in a Porsche before. So it definitely was my first time. I didn’t know that Luka was into cars like that. So, yeah, him and LeBron [James]. It was good seeing them behind the wheel. Seeing LeBron behind a car is dangerous.”

At 7 feet, Ayton was asked if he was comfortable driving the car.

“Yeah, they had some cars where they could hold a 7-footer,” he said. “I don’t know if it was custom or that’s how they’re made or some other factors. But just seeing LeBron James in a sports car pushing, I was like, ‘Yo, he knows cars.’ Him doing his thing, that was pretty cool to see.”

All summer and during training camp, the Lakers have talked about building team chemistry.

They talked about how doing things together off the court is an important part of building chemistry and of learning about a teammate.

Doncic, along with James, is considered one of their leaders and this was seen as magnanimous.

“Yeah, I mean, anytime, some of our max players and guys that have been in the league a while can put something on for the team is great,” Gabe Vincent said. “It’s great when we come together, do something a little bit more extravagant maybe than we would have on our own. Everyone gets to walk away with some cool [stuff].

“Most importantly, you get to do it together, you know what I mean? Sharing experiences is one of the quickest ways to grow closer. So, we’re very grateful to Luka for putting that one on. Everyone had a great time. It’s been great to see him get more comfortable.”

Vincent also did his part in a team-building moment.

Over the summer, he invited his teammates to the sand dunes in Manhattan Beach.

It was his show of leadership after so many workouts and his way to help build that team chemistry.

“So, I tried to just get guys together, most of them were young guys, but just get out on the sand, play a little spike ball, and work down the sand a little bit,” Vincent said. “It’s something to get out of this [practice facility] building, you know what I mean? In the summer, we spend so much time in the gym, grinding at the same thing over and over that sometimes you kind of need a change of scenery. So it’s something for us to do that was different, something for us to do together. We had a good time with it.”

Ayton getting more comfortable

After two preseason games and several more practices, Ayton is starting to get more comfortable with his role inside the Lakers’ offense.

He took more shots in the second game against the Warriors, making three of eight from the field, than in the first game against the Suns, missing both shots, and he scored more points against the Warriors (seven) than against the Suns (two). He blocked two shots in each game and has a total of 15 rebounds.

“How comfortable am I getting? Um, real comfortable, to where I am starting to know their plays and where the screens are and in general, Lakers terms and Lakers basketball,” he said. “So, it’s becoming quite easy just to read the floor and what [Lakers coach] JJ [Redick] likes and what he wants us to be known as, especially going into our rhythm offense and transition offense. So, yeah, the terminology and everything is starting to be easy and I feel in control on each end.”

The Lakers’ first practice of the week gave them hope of what they can look like whole when Marcus Smart takes the court.

Smart has been dealing with Achilles tendinopathy most of training camp and has been limited in practice. But coach JJ Redick said after practice Tuesday that Smart “did most of practice, including some live play.”

Redick said LeBron James and Luka Doncic — along with Maxi Kleber (quad) and Gabe Vincent — did “modified, mostly individual work.”.

“Marcus participated in some live [practice] and then was out at the end,” Redick said. “Yeah he was awesome. He was awesome. He, I think given the workload of today, I was impressed that he was able to sustain his level of intensity for as long as he did.”

Redick said Doncic was out for “load management.” Then Redick laughed.

Smart has been one of the NBA’s better defenders over his career, winning defensive player of the year for the 2021-22 season while playing for the Boston Celtics and being named to the All-Defensive first team three times — 2019, 2020 and 2022.

That will be a big part of his role with the Lakers, and during practice they got a glimpse of his defensive tenacity.

“Yeah, he guarded me a little bit at the first of practice,” Austin Reaves said. “You still feel that pressure. You feel the intensity that he brings on the defensive end, and that’s going to be big for us. We need that. We need him to be the best version of himself. With that communication that he brings, especially defensively, he’s been in the league a while. He knows how to win at the highest level. So, very excited to have him.”

After the Washington Wizards bought out his contract, Smart received several calls from Doncic about joining the Lakers.

Smart eventually signed with the Lakers for two years and $11 million.

At practice Tuesday, Smart left an impression.

“He looked great. He was moving great,” Jarred Vanderbilt said. “But like I said, his main power is that he’s vocal. So being able to help the guys. Communicate, that’s a big part of defense also. Being physical is one of them, but also being vocal, being able to communicate. I think he does both at a very high level. So, he can definitely help us on that end of the floor.”

Vanderbilt is the Lakers’ other top defender, his versatility allowing him to guard multiple positions.

He was asked to envision what the Lakers’ defense will be like with himself and Smart together on the court.

“Aw, man, just causing havoc,” Vanderbilt said. “Not only physically but just vocally. He’s a vocal guy as well, so it’s being the anchor of the defense, flying around, setting that tone defensively. Like, I’m excited. I can’t wait to share the court together.”

LeBron James ad

At some point after practice, the Lakers were asked if any one texted them about James’ cryptic post about “#TheSecondDecision” on Monday.

It left many wondering if James was talking about retiring.

He was not. It was about an ad for Hennessy that was posted on social media Tuesday morning.

“You guys are idiots,” Redick said when asked, laughing as he spoke. “We all knew it was an ad, right? No, I think most people that text me are also aware that it’s probably an ad, so it wasn’t. … Nobody was freaking out.”

Still, James is entering his NBA-record 23rd season.

“I just got a couple calls, like, ‘what is this?’” Reaves said, laughing.

Rui Hachimura wanted to know what was going on.

So he contacted James just to be sure.

“I mean, [I got] a couple texts. But I texted him too,” Hachimura said. “But he was using a [weird] emoji. I don’t even know. I didn’t understand at all. But he loves to do that type of stuff. Surprises, right?”

SAN FRANCISCO — The Lakers entered training camp with hopes of finally establishing chemistry between stars Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. But the trio have yet to see the court together. On Sunday, they all stayed on the bench during the Lakers’ 111-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.

With Doncic (rest) and James (glute) already out, Reaves was rested Sunday after an already full first week of training camp. The fifth-year guard had the highest workload on the team entering the first preseason game that took place after three days of practice. He scored 20 points against the Phoenix Suns as one of the few offensive bright spots in Friday’s blowout loss.

Without their top offensive playmakers, the Lakers got a lift from guard Gabe Vincent, who made his preseason debut after nursing a knee injury. He had 16 points and five assists while center Deandre Ayton, who scored just one point on two shots in Friday’s preseason game, scored seven points, all in the first quarter, with seven rebounds.

“We came with more intention,” Vincent said compared to the Lakers’ 103-81 loss to the Suns on Friday. “We were more focused. Obviously it’s different with those three not playing. They’re a huge part of our team and everything that we do. But next man up.”

After their first two preseason games, the Lakers have one week of practice until their first home preseason game against the Warriors on Oct. 12. Coach JJ Redick said that although Doncic was scheduled to rest for the first two preseason games after he played in EuroBasket with his national team, the Slovenian superstar is still expected to play before the team officially opens its season on Oct. 21. The Lakers have four preseason games remaining.

Whether James, who was held out of early training camp practices because of nerve irritation in his glute, will play in the preseason remains to be seen. Entering an unprecedented 23rd NBA season, James is on a slower ramp-up schedule than previous years, Redick said.

The Warriors took a similarly cautious approach with their aging superstars as Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler III and Al Horford were all limited to one half. The 37-year-old Curry still scored 14 points in 15 minutes, draining five of seven shots from the field and drawing loud cheers from a nearly full Chase Center crowd when he laid up an acrobatic shot through contact and pointed two finger guns into the ESPN baseline camera.

Redick called it a challenge to get a proper evaluation of his team in a 48-minute preseason game when his top three stars are out, but after Friday’s preseason opener, he was looking for better organization on offense early in the shot clock, playing with pace and more physicality.

“We’ve got to be more physical getting open,” Redick said before the game. “We’ve got to be more physical with our screening. That doesn’t change based on who’s in the lineup, so that habit, we can build that.”

“Championship habits” is one of three pillars Redick has preached relentlessly during training camp, along with championship communication and championship shape. He said he would judge the latter in part by whether players are sprinting back on defense.

The Lakers were outscored 23-5 in transition Sunday and 42-11 through two preseason games.

With the exception of a 10-0 Warriors run to end the second quarter and a nearly six-minute stretch to begin the third quarter during which Golden State pushed a seven-point halftime lead into a 23-point rout, Redick said the overall competitiveness was “much better” than against Phoenix. But the next challenge will be to put forth that effort consistently.

It follows a recent theme Redick introduced to the team: Kaizen, the Japanese word for improvement.

“It’s just getting 1% better each day,” said forward Jake LaRavia, who had 10 points and three assists. “And that goes along with just winning the day. We thought when we played Phoenix, we didn’t. Today, we thought we did a good amount better, obviously, still not the result that we wanted, but we’re working in the right direction.”

The plan, Luka Doncic said Thursday after the the Lakers’ third day of training camp, is to go “a little bit slower” during these sessions so he doesn’t totally tax his body after a summer of playing hoops with his country’s national team.

About a month ago, Doncic and Slovenia were eliminated from the 2025 EuroBasket in the quarterfinals by Germany, his 39 points not enough to salvage a win.

Doncic, who slimmed down this offseason, had been playing at a peak level then, but now he and the Lakers want to ease him back into things with the hopes of avoiding injuries.

“Yeah, obviously probably take it a little bit slower than the usual,” said Doncic, who will play in the Lakers’ first preseason game Friday night against the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert. “I had a busy summer. I think month, month and a half I was with national team. So, it was kind of a lot. But that got me ready for the preseason and obviously regular season. So, for me, I think it really helps.”

This camp for the Lakers and Doncic is all about being in tip-top shape, something coach JJ Redick stressed after they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

It has meant more drills, more running, more exertion.

“Yeah, we just talked about today,” Doncic said. “It’s not just physical shape. It’s mental shape too. So, that kind of goes both ways. Both are very important. We’re doing practice. It was great. Everybody’s in great shape. Everybody’s running a lot so it’s been great so far.”

Over the first three days of camp, the Lakers have seen Doncic dominate.

They have seen his creativity, his ability to find teammates from all places on the court.

“Yeah. I think I’m just reminded of his own greatness,” Gabe Vincent said. “He sees the floor so well. He could score from anywhere on the floor. He is always a threat. But he does such a good job of commanding defenses. He gets all 10 eyes on him and he sees the floor and he makes a good read nine times out of 10.”

Still, there are moments when the Lakers are learning how to play alongside Doncic. They are learning his style, which can only help them during the regular season

“Yeah, I think a bit,” Vincent said. “But like I don’t really see Luka as a premeditated individual, you know what I mean? He’s very much so reading and reactive, so you have to read and react with him. So I see it that way. He’s high IQ. LeBron [James is] pretty similar in that route as well. So, it’s definitely still learning him, learning what he likes and doesn’t like. And just playing at his level.”

Getting in shape

Since the end of last season, the mantra from Redick was for his team to be in championship shape.

To that end, at the close of the Lakers’ third day of training camp, Redick pushed his players in which they had to run for six minutes, 10 minutes and six minutes.

“I don’t know if they like me right now for what we just finished practice with,” Redick joked.

Apparently, Vincent said, it wasn’t an issue for him and his teammates.

“I told JJ about a week or two ago, I said, ‘If we all hate you, but we all hate you collectively, that’s great,’ ” Vincent said. “So, as long as we’re together in it. … Obviously no one wants to run at the end of a long practice. But we know the goal we have set for ourselves and we know what we’re trying to do moving forward and we all embraced it, we all got the run in and we all got better for it.”

Injury update

Redick said James, Maxi Kleber (quad), Marcus Smart (achilles tendinopathy) and Aduo Thiero (knee) will not play against the Suns.

Redick said Kleber had an MRI exam and that “he’ll be out a few days.”

“It’s a very minor thing with his quad,” Redick said. “But we’re going to be cautious with him, just like we will all our guys right now.”

When LeBron James was asked about how a former defensive player of the year and a former No. 1 overall pick could elevate the Lakers roster, the superstar instead offered a different offseason addition’s name first.

“And Jake,” James added quickly during his Lakers media day news conference after a question about center Deandre Ayton and guard Marcus Smart.

Jake LaRavia’s signing came with less fanfare than the moves that brought Smart and Ayton to the Lakers, but the 6-foot-7 wing hopes he can be equally as influential in a quiet connector role behind some of the league’s biggest stars.

“We got a lot of dudes on this team that can score, a lot of dudes on this team that can put the ball in the bucket,” LaRavia said Wednesday at Lakers training camp. “So I’m here to complement those players, but to also just bring energy every day on both sides of the ball.”

The 19th overall pick in 2022, LaRavia is a career 42.9% three-point shooter, averaging 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. After beginning his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings last season, playing in 19 games. His team option wasn’t picked up, putting the 23-year-old on the free agency market.

The Lakers, in need of three-and-D players to pair with Luka Doncic, were quick to call.

“To get a young player — a young player in free agency for a team that is trying to win a championship — it’s an incredible opportunity for myself and our player development department to have him continue to grow,” coach JJ Redick said last week. “Jake, I’m very high on him. His level of commitment to what we’ve asked of the guys this offseason has been very high.”

Two days into training camp, LaRavia said he’s been asked to guard four different positions. He’s played often with Doncic’s group and marveled at the five-time All-Star’s impressive array of shots. One of his main objectives during training camp will be to understand how to best to space the court when the ball is in Doncic’s hands.

“It’s gonna make my life so much easier playing with someone like that,” LaRavia said.

LaRavia, who was born in Pasadena but moved to Indianapolis as a child, grew up rooting for the Lakers. Following his father’s fandom, LaRavia said he idolized Magic Johnson.

Now sporting the purple and gold himself, LaRavia is realizing that the team is bigger than just basketball, he said. Compared to his experiences in Memphis and Sacramento, it is obvious the Lakers brand stretches globally.

While suddenly in the spotlight, LaRavia has tried to keep a low profile. He was married a few days before training camp started. He relishes the chance to go unnoticed at local restaurants.

He wants to be recognized only for his wins on the court.

“I understand what this organization wants every year, which is championships,” LaRavia said at media day. “It’s a winning organization, and my one goal being here is just to continue to provide rings.”

Gabe Vincent fully participates in practice

James was held out of practice for the second straight day Wednesday, but still participated in individual drills, Redick said. Guard Gabe Vincent, who missed the first day of training camp, returned to practice and appears to still be on track to play in the Lakers’ first preseason game in Palm Desert on Friday against the Phoenix Suns.

Smart (achilles tendinopathy) and rookie Adou Thiero (knee) remained out, although Smart stayed on the court after practice for extra shots. Redick said Tuesday he expected the 31-year-old guard to be fine by the end of the week.

Forward Maxi Kleber sat out as a precaution after tweaking his quad during conditioning Tuesday and will get an MRI exam, Redick said. Kleber, who missed almost all of last season with a foot injury after being traded to the Lakers in February, said at media day he was entering the season fully healthy.

LeBron James did not participate in the Lakers’ first day of training camp Tuesday because of “nerve irritation in the glute.”

James’ teammates Marcus Smart, Gabe Vincent and Adou Thiero were “under either return to play protocols or modified protocols” during the team’s first sessions.

James is entering his NBA-record 23rd season and the goal is to ramp him up to be ready for the regular-season opener Oct. 21 against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena.

“Yeah, I think it’s probably a little bit longer of a ramp-up leading into opening night for him just obviously in Year 23, it’s uncharted territory here,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “So, I felt, and in talking with performance and in talking with Mike (Mancias, James’ personal trainer) and LeBron, like probably did too much last year in camp, which was great for me as a first-year head coach to get buy-in from him.

“But it’ll be a slower process with him leading into the first game. He’s obviously got 22 years so far of wear and tear on the body and he’s dealing with a little bit of nerve irritation in the glute. So, we’re just playing the long game with LeBron.”

Redick said Vincent was “just modified” and the hope is that he’ll play in the preseason game Friday against the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert.

“He should be good to go live by the end of the week and we expect him to be able to play Friday,” Redick said. “And that’s just, again, the management of, as we did last year as well.”

Smart could be seen shooting after practice, but the Lakers are taking it slow with him as well.

“Marcus, he’s dealing with a little bit of Achilles’ tendinopathy,” Redick said. “He’s been in a slow ramp-up. He was a modified participant, nothing live today. He’s expected to be fine by the end of the week.”

Thiero said Monday that he still has some “swelling” in his left knee that kept him out playing in the summer league in Las Vegas and has slowed his time on the court since then.

Redick said Thiero was running, cutting and jumping with coaches, but that they will take it slow with him.

“It’s really about playing the long game with him,” Redick said. “We look at this year as a developmental year and there’s no reason for us to push his body and create a long-term problem. His knee is in a really good spot. We just want to be really careful.”

Redick said, “that’s the goal,” when asked if James will be ready to play in the season opener.

James, 40, has played 71,104 minutes over his career, including the playoffs.

“You’ll hear me use this a lot: it is unchartered territory,” Redick said. “I don’t think there’s a proven way to handle someone who has this much mileage, this many minutes, been asked to do so many things on both ends of the court. We asked a lot of him last year, we asked a lot of him to start the year in camp, so it’s just working as a partnership and trying to figure it out.”

Even with James not practicing, Austin Reaves said it won’t be a problem for the three leaders to find ways to make it smooth for their teammates.

Along with James and Luka Doncic, Reaves is viewed as one of the Lakers’ stars and he says James always is engaged even when he doesn’t practice.

“Yeah, just communication,” Reaves said. “To have good dialogue back and forth, what everybody likes, what we can do to be successful. With him being one of the highest IQ guys to ever play the game, I think it’s not that hard to piece it in even if he’s not out there right now, He sees the game just as good as anybody that has ever played the game. So, like I said, it’s having conversations, dialogue back and forth what we feel like we can do to help our team be successful is going to be, I think, key.”

The Lakers kicked off their summer break by signing their star player to a contract extension in a flashy news conference featuring Balkan walk-up music and a photo gallery display of Luka Doncic’s best Lakers moments. The team returned Thursday by announcing their continued commitment to their coach.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka announced head coach JJ Redick had signed a contract extension at a news conference with the coach as the Lakers begin training camp next Tuesday.

Redick signed a four-year, $32-million contract last year as a first-time head coach and led the Lakers to a 50-32 regular-season record and the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference before losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of playoffs. The terms of the new deal were not announced.

“We think he’s a special coach with a special voice that’s really helping us define the culture of Lakers excellence,” Pelinka said. “We just wanted to make a clear statement that this is what we believe in, what we’re going to lean into and what our players are going to mold into as we continue to develop the identity. I think having long-term planning is helpful as we build this team and go forward.”

Redick’s extension was one of the finishing touches on what Pelinka called “an intentional and productive offseason.” The Lakers touted major additions of center Deandre Ayton and perimeter players Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia who were each hand-selected for their fits around Doncic and LeBron James.

James opted into the final year of his contract, and Doncic signed a three-year extension on the first day the Lakers could offer in August.

After a blockbuster midseason trade brought the former Dallas Maverick to L.A. in February, Doncic and James will enter their first full season together with questions about how the Lakers can best balance the 40-year-old James and his 26-year-old fellow star.

Redick, who said he had two productive in-person meetings with James this offseason, will oversee the league’s most-watched transfer of power.

Redick recognized that joining the Lakers brings consistent pressure. Then he was also transitioning from broadcasting to coaching while moving cities, settling his children into new schools and adjusting to a seismic midseason trade. Redick’s first year came with little time to reflect or process.

After the Lakers were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs, Redick paused to consider his new career. He ruminated for weeks on how to define his philosophy as a coach and his methodology. He searched for answers in meetings with Rams coach Sean McVay, former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Brady’s former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Through their conversations, he came away with a simple strategy to achieve success.

“We’re going to ask guys to be in championship shape, have championship communication and championship habits,” Redick said. “That’s a daily commitment to that.”

James, who will start an unprecedented 23rd NBA season next week, has always been committed to those pillars, Redick said. Doncic has followed suit.

The Slovenian superstar’s rebuilt and slimmed down body was the talk of the NBA summer after major magazine profiles in Men’s Health and the Wall Street Journal. The offseason work paid off in EuroBasket, where Doncic averaged 34.7 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.1 assists in Slovenia’s run to the quarterfinals. He was named to the tournament’s five-man All-Star team.

But after traveling to Poland to not only watch Doncic play but to observe Slovenian team practices, Pelinka came away just as impressed by Doncic’s off-court habits as his on-court game.

“How he not only led by example, but he was very demonstrative in the practice in terms of his expectations of the team, how they played, their togetherness,” Pelinka said. “Just seeing that continued evolution and growth with him as not only a leader by example but a leader with his voice really stood out to me.”

Redick noted Doncic’s improved movement and defense during the European competition, and the coach expects to see the same version of the star guard stateside.

“I expect the best version of Luka,” Redick said, “and it’s my job as a coach to bring that out on a daily basis.”

Memo to Mark Walter:

Check your swing.

Now that you’re the majority owner of the Lakers, everyone is expecting you to whack their two most prominent leaders in hopes of transforming the basketball team into your baseball team, but you should instead initially act in terms your Dodgers would understand.

Take a pitch.

Keep Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick in their jobs … for now.

Agreed, this might be a tough call, and certainly there could be temptation to immediately can the two Lakers employees who most epitomize the incestuous decisions that have dragged the once-shining championship organization into dull mediocrity.

Pelinka, the president of basketball operations and general manager, was hired eight years ago because he was the agent and confidant of Kobe Bryant.

Redick, the head coach, was hired last summer because he was LeBron James’ podcast bro.

Neither man came to their current positions with strong qualifications. Both men were beneficiaries of a post-Jerry Buss culture in which daughter Jeanie would surround herself with friends and family.

It is a culture that led to outsized decision-making roles for the likes of Linda and Kurt Rambis. It is a culture that is diametrically opposed to the meritocracy that has made this town’s other glamour team so great.

Now that the Dodgers have basically swallowed the Lakers whole, it might be a foregone conclusion that Pelinka and Redick would be among the first to disappear.

Memo to Mark Walter:

Mark Walter, the controlling owner of the Dodgers, recently became a majority stakeholder in the Lakers.

(Emma McIntyre / Getty Images)

Hold up rounding third.

Both Pelinka and Redick have earned a chance to show their strengths in a new system in which there will certainly be increased scouting, advanced analytics and a new professionalism for an infrastructure that had been difficult for any official to succeed.

Ned Colletti was the Dodgers’ general manager when Walter’s group bought the team in the spring of 2012. He lasted two more seasons, Guggenheim Partners pouring money into the team and giving him every chance to succeed before firing him.

Pelinka deserves at least half that chance.

Don Mattingly was the manager when Walter bought the team. He lasted four more seasons, finally parting ways after the 2015 season.

Redick deserves at least a portion of that leash.

Although both men have been viewed as overmatched both in this space and by NBA insiders across the landscape, each has done well enough to not be summarily beheaded the minute Walter walks through the door.

Start with Pelinka. You do know he has an NBA championship on his resume, right? While Alex Caruso dismissed the 2020 title as phony last week after he won another ring with Oklahoma City, that first one still counts, and Pelinka still deserves credit for overseeing it.

Yes, Pelinka is the villain who ruined everything by letting Caruso walk while gutting the title team to acquire Russell Westbrook. But he’s also perhaps the only executive in NBA history to acquire three players the likes of LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Anthony Davis.

He had lots of help there — Magic Johnson recruited James, and James recruited Davis, and Nico Harrison handed him Doncic — but still, he was the final cog in making it happen.

Pelinka also engineered the splendid undrafted free agent signing that was Austin Reaves, which led to the Lakers finishing this season as the third seed in the West.

You don’t fire a decision-maker the same year his rebuilt team finishes third in basketball’s most competitive neighborhood. You don’t fire a decision-maker two years after his team reached the Western Conference finals. And you certainly don’t fire a decision-maker until you know what’s happening with his best employee.

It seems clear that James is going to opt in to his $52.6 million contract this week and remain with the team — and son Bronny — for at least one more season. If that’s the case, then Pelinka should get the chance to add the rim protector he’s been seeking to maximize Doncic and give James one more opportunity at a ring.

However, if James unexpectedly turns down the money to seek better title opportunities elsewhere — not a bad decision for the Lakers, honestly — then the ensuing roster chaos will not be the right time to make a change at the top.

Either way, the situation is fluid enough that Pelinka should be allowed to see it through.

The same goes for Redick, who did an admirable job in his first regular season before melting down in the playoffs.

Granted, some would consider his first-round series game management against the Minnesota Timberwolves a fireable offense, particularly in Game 4 when he used the same five players for an entire second half. He didn’t do himself any favors when he later reacted to criticism of that decision by bristling at a reporter’s question before stalking away from a pregame news conference.

During the most important moments of the season, Redick was in over his head. But as he admitted, he’ll learn, he’ll grow, he’ll get better, and he did well enough during the regular season to believe him.

Redick coached one team before the arrival of Doncic and the departure of Davis. He coached another team afterward. He deftly handled both of those teams while smartly disarming the potentially divisive distraction that was Bronny. Redick also empowered Reaves to become a legitimate third threat before Reaves joined his coach in a playoff disappearing act.

All of which brings this surprisingly sugary piece to this upcoming week, the start of the NBA’s summer madness, and the pressure is on.

Like it or not, Pelinka and Redick are a pair now, a tandem joined by the appearance of a new owner with new expectations.

Pelinka needs to find a big man who can help carry them deep into the playoffs. No matter who Pelinka acquires, Redick has to scheme around Doncic and make it all work.

They won’t get many chances under a new Dodger regime that demands sustained success, but they deserve at least one chance to take advantage of the massive changes that this new ownership group will surely create in returning basketball’s greatest franchise to new glories.

Memo to Mark Walter:

Keep Pelinka‘s and Redick’s names in the lineup card.

In pencil.