The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have the best opening night on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors, which ended in a loss. Deandre Ayton, who was signed over the summer and had a strong preseason, struggled to make an impact. After the game, it was former Laker Shaquille O’Neal who sent Ayton a clear warning.
“Listen Deandre, dominAyton, that performance yesterday, I need you to step it up my boy. You got to do three things. You got to rebound and you got to block shots and you got to dominate,” O’Neal said about Ayton. “The pressure’s not on you, you got two great players that get double a lot. When they make that little bounce pass, catch it and throw it down. You had a small guy guarding you in the post, you turn around and shoot a fadeaway. That’s not going to get it done. We need you brother, we need you to step it up.”
After Tuesday’s game, Ayton acknowledged that the team’s lack of familiarity may be part of the issue.
“Deandre Ayton admitted he might be a ‘confusing’ pick-and-roll target after Austin Reaves blamed some of his five turnovers for making the ‘wrong pass at the right time’ in the two-man game with the new Lakers center,” Lakers insider Dave McMenamin posted.
On Wednesday, Lakers head coach JJ Redick reiterated that point, emphasizing that team chemistry played a major role in the loss.
“JJ Redick says the Golden State Warriors’ continuity allows the group to play with a ‘connective brain tissue.’ As for the Lakers? ‘We just don’t have that yet. We don’t have that connectivity where we all kind of trust and know each other … We’re going to get there,’” McMenamin posted.
It’s clear that the Lakers are still struggling with chemistry, which isn’t surprising given that several key players didn’t practice or play much together during the preseason. It remains to be seen how long it will take for them to build that on-court connection.
For now, it’s evident that there’s a bit of a disconnect within the team — but with 81 games left in the regular season, there’s still plenty of time to figure things out.
