Report Card Grades for LeBron James, Anthony Davis, JJ Redick, Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers brought back nearly the same team that won 47 games last season, but they fell short to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. The most significant change was hiring JJ Redick to replace departed head coach Darvin Ham.
Through 10 games, are the Lakers demonstrably better or worse?
"They look better offensively, but I don't know that they're good enough defensively," one Eastern Conference scout said. "That may be more of a personnel issue. I'm not sure the team is that deep."
The following breaks down each player on the Lakers, how they're impacting the team and what may need to change for them to improve for a more substantial postseason run:
Anthony Davis: A
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Whether it's coaching, maturity or coming into camp in excellent shape after playing for Team USA, Davis has been the Lakers' best player this season.
"I think JJ has prioritized making AD the focus of the offense instead of LeBron [James]. Credit to [Davis] for coming into the year so forcefully," one scout said. "He just needs to stay healthy."
That's a common refrain for the 31-year-old forward/center. He's struggled recently with plantar fasciitis and is getting looked at after a poke in the eye on Sunday in a win over the Toronto Raptors.
Davis is averaging 31.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, missing one of the team's 10 contests.
LeBron James: A-
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It's easy to write James off as having a slow start, but then the league's oldest player (turning 40 in December) will knock out another triple-double. Playing 34.8 minutes a game, he is averaging 23.2 points, 8.9 assists and 7.3 rebounds while shooting 44.4 percent from three.
"He's lost a step, there's no doubt, but that's mostly defensively. He's missing bunnies at the rim, and he can't just blow by defenders in the same way he used to," according to a player agent. "But he's still so smart and knows the game, so he finds other ways. Sometimes he kills their offense down the stretch though, trying to do too much."
On the whole, James remains a substantial positive for the team. Opponents still must account for the Davis/James combination that drove the team to a championship in 2020 and the Western Conference Finals in 2022. The team's shortcomings mainly lie elsewhere.
Austin Reaves: B+
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For Redick, Reaves appears to be the team's third-most important player. The combo guard increasingly has the ball in his hands as a creator, sharing that responsibility with James.
Reaves is at a career-high 18.7 points per game (up from 15.9), though his assists are down slightly from 5.5 to 5.2 and turnovers up 2.1 to 2.3 per game. That may be the 26-year-old guard adjusting to his new role and the team in general, learning a new offensive scheme.
Redick recently moved Reaves defensively from the opposing backcourt's primary threat to the secondary in an effort to maximize his production and stamina on both sides of the ball.
"Sometimes, Reaves can struggle against heavy ball pressure," one scout said. "He's an effort defender who is usually in the right place. He can be overmatched physically against faster, quicker or stronger guards. You can build a defensive scheme with Austin, but good luck with both Austin and [D'Angelo Russell]."
D'Angelo Russell: C-
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The player needing to make the most significant adjustment to Redick's style appears to be Russell, who was recently demoted from the starting lineup to the bench.
From the increase in Reaves' usage to Davis serving as more of an offensive hub, Russell can't quite play his style with the starting group.
Defensively, the pairing with Reaves was problematic. Russell can do more with the ball off the bench, but for how long? He seems to be the player the Lakers most want to replace, and Redick's displeasure in recent games was quite visible (though the coach clarified his viral reaction to a Russell miss).
"I'd be surprised to see Russell on this team past the deadline," an Eastern Conference executive said.
Russell averages 12.9 points and 5.0 assists per game, but if shooting is his best skill, he needs to improve significantly from his current 31.1 percent from three.
Rui Hachimura: B-
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Before the season, Redick emphasized the need for Hachimura to provide more rebounding for the team, and the forward has climbed from 4.3 a game to 6.0. He's shooting the ball well, at 46.9 percent from three, up from an impressive 42.2 percent last year.
But Hachimura's scoring has dipped from 13.6 points to 12.0 despite an increase from 26.8 minutes to 33.7. He needs to improve his shot selection and efficiency on two-point attempts, hitting just 39.0 from the field overall (a steep drop from 53.7 percent last season).
Defensively, the 26-year-old isn't especially versatile, but his size adds to the team's power advantage alongside Davis and James. His awareness ebbs and flows, and he's not as adept on quicker perimeter players.
Hachimura has generally been a positive for the Lakers, but he has room for improvement on both ends of the floor.
Cam Reddish: A-
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Reddish did not seem important to the Lakers and Redick heading into the season. He struggled to stay healthy in his first season with the team and was dealing with ankle issues that initially sidelined him to start the year.
After the Lakers' poor defensive performance on their 1-4 road trip, the head coach gave Reddish the starting nod. Physically, the 25-year-old has all the tools needed to defend guards and wings at a high level, but he's never put together a consistent resume since he was selected No. 5 by the Atlanta Hawks in 2019.
If he can stay healthy and embrace his role as primary defender, he helps repair the team's biggest weakness. Offensively, he was a non-factor last season. He's shooting very well on low volume through a handful of games this year.
Suffice it to say that the various NBA sources who contributed opinions to this list are all skeptical that Reddish will be a consistent performer for the Lakers this season.
Jaxson Hayes: B-
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Hayes is the only healthy, available big man on the roster beyond Davis (and two-way player Christian Koloko). That's given Hayes the freedom to play care-free, and he's been a general positive for the team with his energy.
"The Lakers need speed and athleticism. Hayes is that, but he's pretty limited," one scout said. "He can probably help them in some situations, but they need more in the frontcourt."
Redick has used Hayes as the team's backup center but also alongside Davis in a bigger lineup. He's listed at 7'0", but at 220 lbs, he doesn't have the bulk and defensive awareness to protect the rim consistently.
Gabe Vincent: D+
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The Lakers used their largest spending tool last offseason to bring in Vincent as a free agent (three years, $33 million) from the Miami Heat. He was hurt (knee) for most of the year and struggled when he finally returned to play.
That investment hasn't aged much better this season, but at least the 28-year-old has been available every game. In 18.2 minutes, he's averaging just 3.2 points and 0.5 assists per game, shooting 19.2 percent from three.
Vincent understands the game well defensively. Redick recently said he trusts him as a steady, level veteran. But if he remains a non-factor offensively, the Lakers are at a disadvantage.
Dalton Knecht: C-
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Knecht showed what he's capable of in a 35-point showing against the Phoenix Suns. Alas, it was a preseason contest, and he has yet to find his footing throughout the regular season.
The rookie is a regular part of the rotation, playing 16.9 minutes a game despite shooting just 28.9 percent from three-point range.
Knecht plays hard in general, but his defensive awareness is suspect. He's a shooter/scorer, and that part has yet to click.
Redick has the challenge of bringing on the 23-year-old while trying to improve the team's ability to defend. It's unclear if that's possible in Knecht's rookie campaign.
Bronny and The Rest
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Bronny James: C
The Lakers handled Bronny James' opening-night minutes well, historically having him check in with his father on a nationally televised game. Redick has since limited his minutes appropriately, as most 55th picks aren't rotation-ready.
Home and away crowds chant, "We want Bronny" in fourth quarters, and the 20-year-old has made six appearances. His grade is based on expectations. He hasn't done much, but it seemed clear when drafted that he wasn't ready yet to produce at the NBA level.
Max Christie: D
The franchise had higher hopes for Max Christie, who was pegged to be a top-8 or -9 rotation player. Instead, Reddish and Knecht passed him over. Christie, who re-signed for four years and $32 million, is shooting 29.4 percent from three-point range in 13.1 minutes and averaging 3.8 points per game.
IR and 2-Way Guys: Incomplete
Christian Wood (knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) still have vague timelines on return dates and have yet to play this season. The Lakers declined Jalen Hood-Schifino's third-year rookie-scale option, and he doesn't appear to be part of the team's long-term plans. Second-year wing Maxwell Lewis has yet to crack the rotation.
Two-way players Quincy Olivari and Armel Traoré haven't gotten a chance yet, but Christian Koloko (finally cleared to return after a year-plus from a blood clot issue) has only made one lengthy appearance (13.3 minutes in a loss).
Head Coach JJ Redick: B
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At 6-4, Redick has improved upon the Lakers' 2023-24 record by a game (5-5). Ham's Lakers finished 15th in the league with 115.4 offensive (15th) and 114.8 defensive (17th) ratings. Redick's sample size is much smaller, with a more potent offense at 117.0 (tied at ninth) and a problematic defense at 117.5 (26th). It's clear where the team needs to improve.
Per an agent affiliated with a current Laker, the coaching staff is sharp and detail-orientated.
"I've heard good things about JJ," an Eastern Conference executive said. "He seems to have command of his team. Considering he hasn't done this before, he looks like a coach right off the bat. The bigger issue is the team isn't great."
So far, the team is perfect at home (5-0) and weak on the road (1-4). Redick's first bold move as coach was shifting to Reddish over Russell. Ham tried a similar move but briefly pushed Reaves and Russell to the bench with James as point guard.
For Redick to stand out in his rookie season, his team's front office will need to help. The Lakers need more size alongside Davis and Hayes. While that may be a healthy Wood or Vanderbilt, the latter seems more likely to contribute. L.A. needs a heftier option at center when facing sized opponents.
Similar to some of the issues previous coaches with the Lakers faced (Frank Vogel and Ham), Redick has too many players who can score but not defend or defend but not score. Overall, it's too early to know who Redick is as a head NBA coach, but the initial results are positive.
The task ahead is clear. The Lakers need to improve defensively, and if help isn't coming, Redick will have to find a way with a good but flawed roster.
Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on X/Twitter @EricPincus.
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