Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick publicly criticized starting center Deandre Ayton for repeatedly failing to catch the ball. He also explained the veteran's limited offensive involvement following the team's 123-87 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
Lakers’ JJ Redick blasts Deandre Ayton's ball-handling struggles
During a press conference appearance, Redick said:
“He’s having trouble catching the ball. We ran a bunch of plays for him. He’s just had trouble catching the ball.”
The Lakers boss added:
“I don’t know if that’s the passing or if it’s him trying to get in position; he hasn’t been able to catch the ball.”
Ayton finished with just 3 points on 1-of-4 shooting, 3 rebounds, and a team-worst -26 plus/minus in 23 minutes. Redick said the Lakers had designed multiple plays for the 7-footer, but execution faltered at the most basic level.
The blunt assessment comes as the Lakers head into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak, with Ayton averaging only about 8 points and under 3 rebounds over his last three outings while logging around 20 minutes per game. Redick also called out forward Rui Hachimura for poor execution that prompted an early timeout.
The Lakers are without three starters recently, namely, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James, who was out vs Thunder. While James will make his return in the next game, Reaves and Doncic have been ruled out for the entire NBA regular season.
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