Nothing came easy for the Los Angeles Lakers tonight. They had to claw their way out of a deficit which the New York Knicks’ resilience refused to give up. However, as the game progressed, JJ Redick saw an encouraging growth in his team’s efforts. The defense went after everything, hardly giving the Knicks any room to operate.

What Redick saw tonight was a “playoff matchup”. And that tenacity existed on both sides. The Knicks needed to stay clinical and go on runs to uphold their double-digit lead. The Lakers though never stopped looking for ways out of it. It made for a memorable fight that changed sides due to the Lakers’ relentless vitality. And the coaches are taking notice.

“Few coaches recently you know whether it’s been postgame, pregame, after the game whatever have said man your your team plays really hard. And frankly, we’ve played some teams during this stretch here at home that have played really hard, and really this winning streak started with Portland and that was a conversation Chauncey and I had because his team plays hard,” Redick said about the applause his team has received. 

It was evident tonight against the Knicks and has been since Luka Doncic came in. It is an unexpected yet pleasant improvement. Nobody thought the Lakers’ defense would be capable of changing games after losing an anchor like Anthony Davis. But not only is Doncic making an effort to assert himself on defense, it’s also been a committee effort.

And that’s because although the team saw a huge dynamic season midway through the season, their eyesight is set on one goal. “I mean the goal is championship always. There’s no other goal than that,” the Slovenian point guard who compiled 32 points and 12 assists said after the game.

Tonight’s win was a great precedent for the culture the team has set. The Lakers didn’t play particularly well, only hitting 33.3% of their three-pointers. But in the end, their grit and poise got the job done. Yet, it wasn’t LeBron James or Doncic who inspired the team to make the second-half comeback.

Unlikely heroes make the difference for the Lakers

With their objective of winning a championship, a team needs to have depth. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean having multiple guys that can score the ball. It points towards having individuals who perform their jobs with all their might. Amidst a struggling first-half performance, two “non stars” got that job done for the Lakers.

“I thought Jackson’s defense in the second half and Gabe’s shot-making was huge. I mean Gabe doesn’t make those four threes you know we’re not even in the game. I think for the group overall once we reached their level of effort and how hard they were playing we were right there and we all felt that in the second half,” said the Lakers HC.

In the huddle, JJ Redick kept underscoring the importance of communication of defense. Once that unison came in, he was confident the shots would fall. To end the third quarter, Gabe Vincent and Dalton Knecht hit home on three triples. It didn’t carve the lead out much, but it shifted the momentum in the Lakers’ favor.

Hayes on the other hand has dazzled the Lakers with his effort on defense. He isn’t the rim protector that Anthony Davis is. However, the high flyer was critical in stopping Karl-Anthony Towns. Using his physicality and pressure, Towns was held to just 12 points. Additionally, he held the Knicks to just 25% when on defended field goal percentages. Nobody with his volume did a better job in the entire game.

His spirit to be mobile is a huge reason the Lakers’ defense has allowed the least points over the last 10 games. They are giving up just 106 points. The Lakers are able to convert their great defensive stability into a smooth transition. The team averages 1.18 points in transition from defense to offense, ranking for 93rd percentile in the league.

Although a new squad, the changes the Lakers have got are playing a key role in their outlook as a championship roster. And if they continue to build on their current success, they appear to be strong challengers against any team.