{"id":43348,"date":"2025-11-08T00:42:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T00:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/43348\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T00:42:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T00:42:08","slug":"lakers-continue-to-rely-on-team-building-strong-bond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/43348\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers continue to rely on team building, strong bond"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ATLANTA\u00a0\u2014\u00a0JJ Redick<\/a> was already preaching one type of Japanese philosophy, harping to his team about the concept of \u201ckaizen\u201d to improve each day. Off the court, the head coach found inspiration in another Japanese phrase.<\/p>\n

Lakers players and coaches have used PechaKucha presentations to facilitate team bonding this season. The slideshows, which come from the Japanese word for chitchat, could be a secret to the team\u2019s hot start as the Lakers<\/a> (7-2) have won five consecutive games entering a five-game road that starts Saturday in Atlanta at 5 p.m. PST against the Hawks.<\/p>\n

The Lakers have pieced together one of the NBA\u2019s most efficient offenses despite injuries keeping LeBron James<\/a>, Austin Reaves<\/a> and Luka Doncic<\/a> in and out of the lineup, relying on a strong team bond that\u2019s developed quickly through an even faster form of communication.<\/p>\n

PechaKucha presentations are traditionally 20 slides, each with a photo. The speaker has 20 seconds to explain each slide for a total presentation time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds.<\/p>\n

The Lakers\u2019 version consists of five slides: where you\u2019re from; favorite basketball memory; person, event or thing that has impacted your life; your non-basketball happy place; and dealer\u2019s choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times most of the interactions you\u2019ll have with your teammates is on the basketball court,\u201d forward Jake LaRavia said. \u201cSo it\u2019s good to just kind of either learn some stuff about them outside of basketball, like hobbies and stuff like that, where they come from. And that just helps you kind of understand who the person is a little bit better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assistant coach Scott Brooks started his presentation with a photo of a walnut, symbolizing the walnut farm he worked on during the weekends to help his family make ends meet. LaRavia showed a photo of his driveway as the origin of his basketball journey. Doncic spoke about how his daughter Gabriela changed his life.<\/p>\n

One coach and one player present, and then they each nominate the next coach or player to go. With about half of the players and coaches left, Redick said he\u2019s already noticing the holdouts actively planning their presentations before their nominations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just constantly encouraging and empowering our guys to get connected,\u201d Redick said. \u201cI believe if you\u2019re connected off the floor, you\u2019re connected on the floor. You need buy-in to that. I\u2019m not trying to take credit for my staff here. It\u2019s the guys on the team, they\u2019re bought into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doncic, for one, isn\u2019t sold. He deadpanned that he doesn\u2019t think the exercise helps.<\/p>\n

Just the fact that Doncic made the joke meant it\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

Settled after last season\u2019s jarring trade, the 26-year-old\u2019s personality has started to emerge among his teammates. He is a sarcastic jokester who expresses love for his teammates by threading passes to them through pinhole-sized gaps in the defense and then trash talking them right soon after.<\/p>\n

\"Lakers <\/p>\n

Lakers coach JJ Redick, with injured forward LeBron James next to him, questions a call along with guard Marcus Smart during the game against the Spurs on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

(Allen J. Schaben \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n

Doncic\u2019s smiling antics, whether he\u2019s trying to sit on Austin Reaves\u2019 lap<\/a> on the sideline or swishing halfcourt shots in a contest with Reaves, Maxi Kleber and staff members, show just how connected the superstar feels to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, the feeling is I\u2019m enjoying, very much, playing with these guys,\u201d Doncic said. \u201cAR [Reaves] can\u2019t play. We\u2019re still missing LeBron. So this team has a big potential. But everybody who steps on court, gives maximum, man, everybody. So it\u2019s very enjoyable to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reaves is present on the road trip but will miss a third consecutive game Saturday. The Lakers ruled him out after practice Friday as his right groin injury progressed to a strain after previously being categorized simply as soreness.<\/p>\n

James did not make the trip to Atlanta. He progressed to on-court basketball activities this week after missing four weeks because of a sciatica on his right side. He was playing one-on-one with coaches, Redick said. A stint with the South Bay Lakers is on the table, but no decision has been made.<\/p>\n

The NBA\u2019s all-time leading scorer hasn\u2019t played a single minute for the Lakers yet. Reaves, averaging 31.1 points and 9.3 assists, has missed the last two wins, and Doncic has played in only half of the games. But the Lakers are still fifth in the NBA in offensive rating.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows how professional we are,\u201d guard Marcus Smart<\/a> said of the team\u2019s chemistry despite constantly changing personnel. \u201cI think a lot of people, especially who aren\u2019t in the brotherhood, they forget that you build a relationship with guys, and then one guy or a couple guys, you get traded and you got to rebuild another one. You don\u2019t understand how tough that is, how much of a toll that takes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as Smart spoke, Doncic appeared behind the group of reporters, clapping loudly. Then Doncic made sure to put on the record that he would beat Smart at a team-building competition that night. Both smiled as they walked away.<\/p>\n