November 4th - The Lakers' away game against the Trail Blazers in today's NBA regular season game has concluded. The Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers 123-115.
After the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was interviewed by reporters.
Regarding the victory despite missing key players, Redick stated, "In the NBA, if you want to win, first you have to have the belief to win the moment you step onto the court. I think the team went out there tonight with that determination."
Regarding the team's offensive performance tonight, Redick praised Ayton, Hachimura, and the breakout performance of Smith.
“DA (Ayton) and Hachimura had an excellent offensive performance all night, while Nick (Smith) took over the game in the second half. Especially against a small-ball team like the Trail Blazers, who love to steal the ball and disrupt our passing, we needed Nick's ball-handling and penetration tonight, and it was a perfect game for him.”
Regarding the opponent's strategy of switching on every position, Redick said:
“When the opponent uses a switching strategy from position 1 to 5, we can no longer insist on playing pick-and-roll offense. This turns the game into a simple question: can my players dribble past their defenders? I'm glad my players changed their mindset; they penetrated their defenders several times in the second half, creating advantages for us, and we just have to keep playing like that.”
