The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to stay afloat in the NBA playoffs despite playing with a short-handed roster. Both the Lakers and Houston Rockets were missing stars in Game 1 of their series, however. For LA, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves did not play due to injuries while Kevin Durant was out for the Rockets with an injury as well. Nevertheless, the Rockets have a talented team and Lakers head coach JJ Redick will need to press all of the right buttons in order to lead his squad to a series win.
Redick is succeeding so far. The Lakers earned a Game 1 victory, winning by a final score of 107-98. Luke Kennard surprised many by leading all scorers with 27 points while converting on nine of his 13 field goal attempts and connecting on all five of his three-point shots. On Monday, Redick revealed the message he sent to Kennard before the Lakers-Rockets postseason series, via Dave McMenamin.
"One of the things messaging wise was, ‘You shooting six or seven 3s a game at 38 percent for the series is better than you shooting three a game at 45 percent. We need you to shoot.' It's unlikely he will go 5-5 every game, but I loved his level of aggression."
Kennard averaged exactly 3.0 three-point attempts per outing with the Lakers after getting traded from the Atlanta Hawks during the season. He was certainly efficient, shooting 44.8 percent from beyond the arc. Redick, who knows a thing or two about shooting the long ball himself, wanted Kennard to be more aggressive in the postseason.
The Lakers shooting guard stepped up and answered Redick's message in Game 1.
Luke Kennard's Three-Point Shooting
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
The Lakers are currently without Doncic and Reaves. Los Angeles needs to play a different style of basketball as a result. They cannot simply sit back and let 41-year-old LeBron James take every shot at this point in his career. James is still incredible for his age, but he is not the same player he once was.
LeBron scored 19 points on 9-15 shooting from the field in Game 1. It was a good performance. Los Angeles utilized other players as well, though. Deandre Ayton also made an impact. Kennard, though, may be the X-factor, and he was the star in Saturday's contest.
The Lakers can return to their usual style of play once Doncic and Reaves return. Doncic and Reaves are at their best with the ball in their hands. For now, continuing to feed Kennard can make the biggest difference. If they can get him five to 10 shots per contest, the Lakers will likely benefit overall.
