PHOENIX — It’s customary and expected for good teams to win the minutes when their best players are on the court together.
That hasn’t been the case for the Lakers so far in 2024-25.
The Lakers entered Tuesday night’s NBA Cup Group Play matchup against the Phoenix Suns losing the minutes when LeBron James and Anthony Davis were on the court together.
The Lakers were being outscored by 5.5 points per 100 possessions in the 365 minutes when James and Davis played together before Tuesday.
“We look at all that stuff,” first-year coach JJ Redick said before the game.
For context, the Lakers’ point differential per 100 possessions in previous seasons when Davis and James have been on the floor together:
• 2023-24: plus-3.4 (1,726 minutes);
• 2022-23: plus-5.3 (887 minutes);
• 2021-22: minus-2.5 (576 minutes);
• 2020-21: plus-11.2 (601 minutes);
• 2019-20: plus-8.0 (1,455 minutes).
“Not concerned, not concerned at all,” Redick said. “It’s more diving deeper into the why and trying to self-correct that.”
Lineups with James and Davis on the court haven’t performed well defensively, allowing 120.1 points per 100 possessions according to Cleaning The Glass.
The Lakers entered Tuesday allowing 118 points per 100 possessions, according to Cleaning The Glass, for the league’s fifth-worst defensive rating after subpar defensive performances over the last two weeks.
The Lakers’ starting lineup of James, Davis, Austin Reaves, Cam Reddish and Rui Hachimura, one of the most-used lineups with Davis and James on the floor, entered Tuesday allowing 125 points per 100 possessions.
Lineups with Davis and James haven’t rebounded well, don’t force turnovers at a high rate and allow other teams to shoot high percentages from the floor.
“I’ll let you dive into the numbers,” Redick responded when asked why he thought the Lakers have lost the minutes with his two stars playing together.
SUNS STARS BACK
Suns stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal were back in the lineup for Phoenix after missing the previous seven and five games, respectively, because of strained left calves.
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Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said both players could be on minutes restrictions after a prolonged periods away from game action.
But Redick and his staff were prepared for Durant and Beal to play their normal minutes.
“They may have a minutes restriction,” Redick said. “They may be saying they have a minute restriction. It may be real. It may not be real. But my expectation is they’re gonna go try to win a basketball game.
“And if that means those guys play 34 minutes and 36 minutes, it happens. I know from coaching, I know from playing, there’s some wiggle room on that minutes restriction. Sometimes, 25 can easily turn into 29.”