{"id":131620,"date":"2025-03-30T09:30:18","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T13:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=131620"},"modified":"2025-03-30T09:30:18","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T13:30:18","slug":"lakers-big-three-respond-to-jj-redicks-call-for-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/30\/lakers-big-three-respond-to-jj-redicks-call-for-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Big Three Respond To JJ Redick\u2019s Call For Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> needed a spark. A heartbreaking loss to the Chicago Bulls<\/a> had drained momentum from their road trip. Head coach JJ Redick saw an opportunity to rally his ‘big three’. He met with LeBron James,<\/a> Luka Don\u010di\u0107,<\/a> and Austin Reaves<\/a> in Memphis. His message was clear: play with more force, thrust, and creativity.<\/p>\n

Lakers Big Three Respond To JJ Redick\u2019s Call For Action<\/h2>\n

The response? Dominance. The Lakers\u2019 big three combined for 85 points and 25 assists in a crucial 134-127 win over the Memphis Grizzlies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Offensive Explosion<\/h3>\n

Los Angeles played its best offensive game of the season. Reaves led the charge with 31 points on 8-of-16 shooting, hitting five three-pointers. He also added eight assists and seven rebounds. Doncic contributed 29 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. James, in his third game since returning from a groin injury, put up 25 points, six rebounds, and eight assists.<\/p>\n

The trio accounted for 120 of the Lakers\u2019 points. Their chemistry flourished, creating open shots and high-quality possessions. The Lakers shot 50.6% from the field and 44.2% from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n

“When we trust one another, we can generate open looks on almost every possession,” Reaves said<\/a>. “Tonight was proof of that.”<\/p>\n

LeBron\u2019s Leadership Shines<\/h3>\n

James set the tone early. His leadership during a critical timeout helped energize the team.<\/p>\n

“He was as vocal as he’s been since returning from injury,” Redick said<\/a>. “That galvanized the group.”<\/p>\n

Reaves also noticed the impact. “It was the first time I’ve heard him yell in a while. It was refreshing, to be honest. I loved it.”<\/p>\n

The Lakers needed this win to stay competitive in the Western Conference playoff race. Redick reminded the team of their potential and the urgency of each game.<\/p>\n

“I’m not surprised at how hard we played tonight,” Redick said<\/a>. “I made sure the group knew we believed in them.”<\/p>\n

Answering The Fit Questions<\/h3>\n

Since Doncic\u2019s arrival, questions have swirled about his fit with James and Reaves. Their net rating as a trio is -7.0<\/a>. The lack of continuity, largely due to injuries, has raised concerns.<\/p>\n

Doncic had grown frustrated with the repeated questions. After the loss in Chicago, he snapped. “You guys ask me this after every game,” he said<\/a>. “We just have to figure out how to play together.”<\/p>\n

Saturday night provided an answer. The trio became the first in NBA history to each record 25+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists, and 2+ made threes in the same game.<\/p>\n

Is JJ Redick\u2019s Big Three Playoff-Ready?<\/h3>\n

The Lakers, now 45-29, sit fourth in the Western Conference. Their final eight games are against Western Conference opponents. Every win matters for seeding.<\/p>\n

Reaves emphasized the importance of this victory. “We hadn\u2019t been playing great, so this was a big game for us,” he said.<\/p>\n

The key to playoff success? Their offensive firepower.<\/p>\n

From possession to possession, it\u2019s a pick-your-poison situation for defenses. When games slow down in the postseason, the trio can be a difference-maker.<\/p>\n

Defense remains a concern, but the Lakers recently showed improvement during an eight-game win streak. If James<\/a>, Doncic, and Reaves continue playing at this level, Los Angeles could be a legitimate challenger to the favorites, the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Lakers needed a spark. A heartbreaking loss to the Chicago Bulls had drained momentum from their road trip. Head coach JJ Redick saw an opportunity to rally his ‘big three’. He met with LeBron James, Luka Don\u010di\u0107, and Austin Reaves in Memphis. His message was clear: play with more force, thrust, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":131621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,26,3],"tags":[49979,4556,2279,38,1133,596],"class_list":["post-131620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-news","tag-2024-25-nba-season","tag-austin-reaves","tag-jj-redick","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nba-playoffs"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":131622,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131620\/revisions\/131622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}