{"id":707724,"date":"2026-04-10T22:48:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/707724\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T22:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:48:27","slug":"lakers-luke-kennard-thriving-in-new-role-ahead-of-nba-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/707724\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers\u2019 Luke Kennard thriving in new role ahead of NBA playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lakers coach JJ Redick understands the stigma that surrounds Luke Kennard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not just now. And not just during Kennard\u2019s nine years as an NBA player. But likely his entire basketball career going back to when he was a kid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy because he\u2019s a white guy that shoots well, to just think he\u2019s just a shooter,\u201d Redick said after the Lakers\u2019 win over the Warriors on Thursday<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s just the reality of the situation. I\u2019m sure every time he checked into an AAU tournament in eighth grade, everybody\u2019s screaming \u2018shooter, shooter. shooter.\u2019 That\u2019s the life we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LosThe Lakers\u2019 Luke Kennard has shown he is much more than a 3-point shooter. AP<\/p>\n

But when the Lakers have needed it most, Kennard has shown he can bring a lot more to the floor than 3-point shooting.<\/p>\n

With the regular-season-ending injuries to Luka Doncic (left hamstring strain) and Austin Reaves (left oblique strain), the Lakers needed others to step up as ball handlers.<\/p>\n

Which led to a conversation between Redick and Kennard in Dallas between the April 2 loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City in which Doncic and Reaves suffered their injuries and the April 5 loss to the Mavericks, with the focus being on the Lakers<\/a> needing Kennard to step into a different role.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came right to me and was like, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re going to have the ball in your hands a lot, and we need you to do that,\u2019\u201d Kennard recalled. \u201cHe kind of came right to me to have that responsibility and take pride in it, and gives me a little bit of confidence knowing that he\u2019s confident in me to put me in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mutual confidence has paid off.<\/p>\n

Kennard averaged 9.3 assists over the previous three games entering Friday, including a career-high-tying 11 in the loss to the Mavericks, showcasing a level of playmaking and passing that he simply didn\u2019t get an opportunity to do when the Lakers were healthier.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his first 27 games with the Lakers after being traded, Kennard averaged 29.3 touches per game (16.9 in the frontcourt), had the ball for about 1.2 minutes per game and averaged 2.44 seconds per touch.<\/p>\n

\"ALakers guard Luke Kennard averaged 9.3 assists over his previous three games entering Friday. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

His usage has increased multiple levels over the last week.<\/p>\n

Kennard averaged 71 touches (36 in the frontcourt), had the ball for 4.2 minutes per game and averaged 3.52 seconds per touch in the last three games as the team\u2019s fill-in point guard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After being the main Laker bringing the ball up the court against the Mavericks, the Lakers have mixed in more actions for Kennard that get him from off the ball to on-ball, making the transition a little smoother.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known for a long time that there\u2019s a lot to his game, a lot he can do as a basketball player, primarily as a playmaker,\u201d Redick said. \u201cHe really does such a good job of using his shooting as a threat, using his change of speed and pace as a threat. And then just consistently make the right play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redick sees a steadiness in Kennard \u2014 as a player and a person.<\/p>\n

Which has helped Kennard take on a significant role.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in high school, I played point guard a lot,\u201d Kennard said. \u201cSo maybe from there a little bit. I\u2019ve been in different situations throughout my career in the NBA. So I\u2019ve seen it all, experienced a lot. I\u2019ve had a lot of responsibility and less responsibility, and I just kind of find my way and find my role whenever that opportunity comes. So it\u2019s something I\u2019m comfortable with, I\u2019m confident in and just trying to find a rhythm with it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lakers coach JJ Redick understands the stigma that surrounds Luke Kennard.\u00a0 Not just now. And not just during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":707725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,160,1331,150,1171,6,11,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-707724","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-j-j-redick","11":"tag-los-angeles-lakers","12":"tag-luke-kennard","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nba-playoffs","15":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116382855579732571","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=707724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/707724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/707725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=707724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=707724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=707724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}