The Los Angeles Lakers wrote out the Charlotte Hornets after the first quarter. Anthony Davis was monstrous, compiling 42 points and 23 rebounds in the game. However, while the Purple and Gold annihilated the home team in the opening twelve, it turned out to be the only thing that would help them cling to a win. The contest came as close to five points for the Hornets before JJ Redick and Co. preserved their win.

As a coach watching along, JJ Redick was proud of his players playing “hard” throughout the game. At the same time, he did refer to some mental lapses that enabled a Hornets team that lost LaMelo Ball inside the first ten minutes to spark a threatening run.

“I said this to Bob when I was walking off the court. We played hard for 4 quarters. Now it was not pretty, but we played hard for 4 quarters. I think for me, we made a lot of mental errors tonight. And, look, I don’t know if that’s coming off Saturday and the long flight yesterday and getting acclimated to East Coast time, but it felt a little bit of brain fog less so than just, like, guys not playing,” said JJ Redick.

The moments were plenty. Bad passes, LeBron James double dribbling, or even Dorian Finney-Smith’s critical error in the fourth quarter that led to a 5-point swing in a matter of seconds. The Lakers committed 16 turnovers tonight and most were unforced, born by their own mistakes.

“We had 3 timeouts in the first half that we didn’t run the correct play. You know, the the doe’s pass with the clock running, we don’t need to we don’t need to, like, get it out quickly after a made basket with 3 minutes to go and leave. Like, just stuff like that,” Redick said about his team.

The Hornets capitalized well. They generated 28 points through turnovers alone. Moreover, they shot the three ball with better accuracy and won all the remaining quarters. If not for a rampaging first quarter, maybe the Lakers would have folded tonight.

JJ Redick’s Lakers are trotting down the right track

Regardless of how they won, the Los Angeles Lakers claimed their fourth straight victory. They are now just two games behind the fourth-seed Denver Nuggets in the West. A large part of their winning shift has been the defensive turnaround by the Purple and Gold. In the last five games, they have held opponents to shooting just 43.5% shooting.

The mark is far better than their season average. Additionally, with wing defenders such as Dorian Finney-Smith and Jared Vanderbilt actively bothering ball-handlers, JJ Redick is slowly beginning to unfold his tactical genius. The Lakers have only allowed 103 points per game over a five-game stretch. It’s the second least point allowed in the NBA in that span.

The Lakers’ offense has always been good. However, the bold changes that Redick has implemented have introduced the element of team basketball to a far greater degree. This win also came without Rui Hachimura, a reliable defender and the Lakers’ best threat from the perimeter this season.

The signs are all positive. While mistakes are bound to happen in the game of basketball, what matters is how the team responds. After a troubling run at the beginning of the season, the Lakers are beginning to play to their identity. They aren’t forcing three-point shots at a high volume. Rather, JJ Redick has created schemes to leverage the teams’ physical prowess.

With the defense beginning to take shape well, the Lakers have displayed quality to beat some of the topsides in the NBA. From here, it’s all about building on the same.