“It takes a while for a group to develop identity, takes a while for a group to develop a collective mentality,” JJ Redick had said after the Lakers defeated the Clippers 106-102 on February 28. Can’t deny, the seismic Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade was indeed like an identity rehash for the Purple and Gold side. And if that one trade episode was not a shock enough, there was another that entailed rookie Dalton Knecht getting traded to the Charlotte Hornets, only to be brought back to LA again! Look how the side is rolling now! The chemistry between LeBron James and Luka is off the charts. But talk about the killer vibe of the bench!

“You want this win, you have to come fight us, literally fight us … Let Bron and Luka go kill and let us do our dirty work,” Trey Jemison had said about the physicality of the Lakers bench. And these are not just words, the Lakers are putting that to work. The entire NBA world was baffled to find out that the Lakers’ defense has actually gotten better ever since they traded their trusted defensive hand Davis. No wonder Redick said, “I like who we are right now as a team.” On Tuesday night, the game against the Pelicans surely gave Redick more reason to like his team that stepped up arms-in-arms when their youngster Knecht was in trouble.

Just under three minutes left in the third quarter at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers were leading the Pelicans 96-76. Knecht had what appeared to be an uncontested fastbreak opportunity after a New Orleans turnover. He sprinted to the bucket for a fastbreak flush. But as the Lakers rookie rose up for a likely dunk, Pelicans forward Bruce Brown grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him to the ground. The 23-year-old, already mid-way through the air, took an ugly fall. He seemed to be in pain as he lay on the floor for a moment.

The terrifying injury of Kyrie Irving was still fresh in everyone’s mind, and the Lakers squad was not ready to have the foul attempt easy. Luka rushed to the spot right away to check on him, and on his way, he shoved Brown’s hands away. That’s it, that’s what ignited the fire. Jarred Vanderbilt jumped right in to throw a hand. Before things could go wrong, guess what happened?

It was Coach Redick who stepped in. Or else, things could have gone south for the LA side. “JJ came immediately to get Vando away from there. Doncic was the one who initially pushed Brown after Knecht went down,” said the Lakers commentator.

Along with JJ Redick, the securities bumped in and separated the players. And then, the refs took over the floor. They hijacked the game, discussing the mishap. After an eternity, they passed judgment. The ref slapped a flagrant foul (type 1) on Bruce Brown for pulling down Knecht and two techs, each for Vanderbilt and Brown. In short, the Pelicans would shoot one FT, the Lakers would three and also take possession of the ball. The entire ordeal, however, did not deter Knecht from what he was supposed to do.

Knecht had a solid performance off the Lakers’ bench. The Tennessee alum poured in 13 points on 5/9 shooting in a 136-115 Lakers win. He was also a part of an epic highlight that led to a LeBron James alley-oop slam. But wait! Amid this drama, we might have missed something. What led JJ to get involved in de-escalating the incident?

Amid Luka Doncic’s on-court tussle, JJ Redick’s unique trait pops out

We usually don’t see coaches separating the players during the on-court brawl. Looks like JJ Redick is too determined to win the chip this year. Importantly, he seemed more concerned about Jarred Vanderbilt, who made a delayed debut this season after undergoing offseason surgeries in both feet. And in that debut on January 25 against the Golden State Warriors, Vando immediately made a place for himself. 

In his 12-minute playtime, Vanderbilt’s only bucket came on an offensive rebound, but he had three steals and four rebounds, extending possessions on the offensive end and closing them out on the defensive side. Long story short, he gave the Lakers’ defense the much-needed boost of energy. “I mean, he’s flying around. What he does don’t even always show up in the box score,” LeBron had made the vital observation about him in that 118-108 Lakers win.

So, losing Vando will again put the team in a spot where they long for a big man to join the fold. Probably that is why, it wasn’t just tonight that the 40-year-old coach rushed to stop the big man. Last week, there was a similar instance. When the Lakers took the Wolves, Anthony Edwards and Vando looked a bit rusty, as both engaged in a tough physicality on the court.

At one point, when both players headed to their respective benches, suddenly they began shoving each other. Redick, who was watching it closely, rushed to separate the Lakers’ big before things could flare. What is your take on Vando’s contribution to the Lakers’ defense? Let us know in the comments.