Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick discusses the difficulties of not having Luka Doncic.
The Los Angeles Lakers failed to sweep the Houston Rockets in game four, falling, 115-96.
It was the first time all series that the Lakers failed to crack 100 points. The first four games have been a defensive struggled for both teams, as the Rockets were held under 100 points in the first two games, and had just 101 through regular in game three. They ended up with 108 for the game.
The Lakers averaged 106 points through the first three games before their 96-point output in game four.
The biggest struggle for the team offensively came in taking care of the ball as they turned it over 23 times, leading to 30 points for the Rockets.
JJ Redick Speaks
After the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was asked about the difficulies of generating offense against the Rockets.
"This is a top ten defense. Obviously, it's very challenging without your two leading scorers to generate offense. We'll take a look at the process on that end. Our points per shot and expected points per shot were slightly below our season average. It comes back to taking care of the ball. We'll look at that and how we can be better there," he said.
The Rockets finished sixth defensively during the regular season. The Lakers had the tenth ranked offense, though circumstances are much different in the playoffs without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Reaves could be back for game five as the Lakers try to close out the series at home, while Luka is further away and may not play in the first round. Both have been sidelined since April 2.
Offense Without Luka and Reaves
Though they have been missing their top two scorers, the Lakers have done enough on the offensive end to go up three games to one.
LeBron James has been the catalyst, averaging 21.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 8.8 assists in the four games. In the first three games, all victories for the Lakers, LeBron averaged 25.3 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 8.7 assists while shooting 43% from three.
Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Luke Kennard have all stepped up throughout the series.
In game one, Kennard had 27 points while hitting five threes, while Ayton secured a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
In game two, Smart had 25 points and seven assists while hitting five threes, and Kennard had 23 points.
In game three, it was Hacimura's turn, as he had 22 points, shooting 4-7 from three. Smart added 21 points and ten assists.