However, in the fourth quarter, the Lakers changed things up in an attempt to mount a comeback. Head coach JJ Redick took out his big Deandre Ayton and went with a small-ball lineup the rest of the way.
On the floor, Luka Dončić, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura were able to outscore the Spurs by 10 points and cut the lead down to single digits.
After the game, Luka talked about how that small-ball unit performed in the final quarter.
“I think it was they were pretty good minutes,” Luka said. I think we cut [the lead] down to nine or eight instead of being down 24, I think. Those were pretty good minutes. Everybody was hustling. They had Kornet on the floor, so everybody needed to box out. From there, we just run. We’re probably faster in the small lineup. I think there were some pretty good minutes.”
That gets amplified when they play a young athletic team like the Spurs. So, with the game appearing out of reach, it made sense for Redick to try something different and see what success he could find.
The Lakers lost size with Ayton and Jaxson Hayes off the floor, but what they gained was speed and shooting. Players like Marcus Smart and Austin Reaves were hitting shots, and on defense, they were able to at least keep up with San Antonio’s pace.
This won’t often be the best option for the Lakers, but it’s something they can go to in the future when they need to be faster and their opponent doesn’t have a dominant scoring big on the floor.
With the Spurs playing without Victor Wembanyama, LA was in that exact scenario, and while it didn’t lead to a complete comeback, it did force San Antonio to keep their main guys in the game a bit longer.
And now, Redick has some additional data on that small-ball unit and knows that it can perform well against a top team like the Spurs.
That’s not as good as actually winning the game, but at least in a loss, there’s something the Lakers can build on.