JJ Redick is letting us in on a secret: the Lakers have been spending way more time this preseason nailing down special situations in practice, and it is a massive shift from last year. After a season and a half where the squad, especially post-Luka Dončić’s “jarring, unforeseen acquisition,” just hadn’t looked like a cohesive unit, this commitment to fundamental, detailed work feels like a breath of fresh air. Redick flat-out told reporters they’ve had “more opportunities to refine their execution in key spots,” something he clearly felt was missing big time before last year’s regular-season opener.
New Faces, New Focus
Look, the Lakers are basically a whole new squad. LeBron James, Deandre Ayton, and Rui Hachimura are all gone, and that’s three starters from last year walking out the door. We’re talking an “influx of free agent signings” and potentially seven or eight new rotation players this season. Only Dončić, Austin Reaves, and Jake LaRavia are left from the 2025-26 incumbent starters. So yeah, assimilation is absolutely required. Redick’s commitment to “teaching and installs” has allowed them to “double and triple down on a lot of things that maybe we’ve only had one pass through last year.” That’s huge! It is giving this new group the time to actually build familiarity and connection. We’re talking specific game situations they’ve covered multiple times in shootarounds. That attention to detail has to be a good sign for a team trying to gel with so many fresh faces before Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.
Defense: The Wild Card Unit
Here’s where it gets interesting. The offense, with Dončić and Reaves surrounded by “a bevy of play-finishers and spacers,” should be “pretty dang good out of the gates.” Even if it gets more potent by the end of the year, it sounds like we can expect some firepower early. But the defense? That’s the unit we need to keep our eyes on. They’re reportedly embracing a more aggressive, “turnover-pursuant” approach, and let me tell you, that requires a ton of synergy to execute correctly. The expectation is that the defense “might be wobblier to open the year and projects as the lesser of Los Angeles’ two units.” So, while the optimism is high right now, how quickly this group can lock in defensively and get to where they need to be is going to be absolutely crucial in determining the Lakers’ ceiling for the 2026-27 season.
The Lakers kick off their season with a big one against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. All eyes will be on how quickly this revamped roster, armed with Redick’s detailed prep, can come together, especially on that defensive end. That first game is going to tell us a lot about where they really stand.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Silver Screen and Roll.
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