Iztok Franko: Lakers Game Observations: Game 10 @ Hawks

November 9, 2025 at 8:11 am

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

“Nothing.”

That’s how JJ Redick summed up what his team came up with last night. The other thing the visibly upset Redick revealed in a very brief postgame session was that he knew it would be a long night after the first two minutes.

The Lakers certainly looked like they’d had a long night before, coming out completely flat after two days of rest against a team on the second night of a back-to-back and missing four of its five best players. Yes, trap games like this, when you take it easy against an undermanned team, happen in an 82-game NBA season. The Lakers themselves just won one five days ago in Portland, in what we called a culture-setting win.

Still, this was a very disappointing showing. In my preview, I wrote that this and the next game in Charlotte were chances for the Lakers to prove their contender worth by taking care of business. They failed miserably at the first hurdle.

Programming note: With this game, we’ve reached the 10-game mark. So tomorrow, instead of the Hornets preview, I’ll publish an early trends piece looking at the first signals.

digginbasketball is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Today’s notes:

Not good enough for complacency

When Luka isn’t feeling the stage

Big-picture lesson I: too much finesse

Big-picture lesson II: Lakers struggles against speed and movement

The other side of Deandre Ayton

1-Not good enough for complacency

The most disappointing part about this game is that the Lakers aren’t good enough to afford that level of complacency. They were a surprising 7–2 heading into this one, but their net rating, defensive rank, and the way they’d won most games showed they’re not a top-five team yet. This is an undermanned group that’s been winning thanks to an outlier hot shooting start, hustle, and a few breaks going their way in close games.

Last night was a good reminder that their 7–3 record doesn’t fully reflect where they actually are as a team right now. It was their worst defensive performance of the season, dropping them to 22nd in defensive rating. That result, even with key absences, is another sign this team is still very much a work in progress.

2-When Luka isn’t feeling the stage

What makes Luka Dončić such a special player to watch is that, typically, the bigger the stage and the tougher the challenge, the better he performs. He lives for big-stage games — and you’ll take that every time from your superstar.

The downside of that equation is that in games where there’s no one to light that fire on the other end, you sometimes get a “meh” performance or even a stinker against bottom dwellers or depleted teams like the Hawks were. It’s not that Dončić, who had a 22/6/4 stat line at halftime, played terribly or was the main culprit in this defeat. This was a collective no-show, a low-energy, low-focus, no-urgency game, and Dončić was part of it. Without other leaders like James or Reaves to steady the ship, there was no one to prevent the wreck.

3-Big-picture lesson I: too much finesse

When everyone is locked in, the Lakers’ starting unit with Dončić, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Austin Reaves, and eventually LeBron James will be one of the most offensively skilled groups in basketball. In past game observations, I’ve spent plenty of time praising Hachimura and Ayton for how their skill level exceeds that of a typical role player or fourth or fifth starter. Their ability to step up and score was instrumental in filling the gaps during the early absences of James, Dončić, and Reaves.

But like Dončić and Reaves, both Hachimura and Ayton are more finesse players than high-motor energizers who dominate through physicality and effort. Up to this point, Redick has done a good job of both pushing them to play harder and complementing them with high-motor players like Marcus Smart, Jake LaRavia, and Jarred Vanderbilt. But last night, the Lakers started out far too lackadaisical and unfocused, and the much hungrier Hawks simply ran away with it.

4-Big-picture lesson II: Lakers struggles against speed and movement

Speaking of running away, going into this game, as in almost every other one, I stressed in my preview that the Lakers are a precise, finesse, half-court team. They usually hold a clear edge in playmaking, but they don’t have the athleticism or speed to keep up in an open-floor game. The key to keeping the game in the half court is to avoid low-focus, unforced early turnovers, which have been a concerning pattern this season and allowed the young, fast Hawks to dominate the Lakers in transition.

The other issue exposed last night was the Lakers’ defense against teams that play fast, both with and without the ball. We’ve seen it against the Warriors, even in the win over Miami, and again last night. In my preview, I noted how Quin Snyder has his team driving and cutting, and the Hawks put on a cutting clinic against a stagnant and inattentive Lakers shell defense.

5-The other side of Deandre Ayton

Overall, Deandre Ayton was a positive surprise over the first ten games, and his contributions were crucial in several wins. Ayton’s effort and focus watch was a theme in most of my game observations. Games like last night are why that will remain the case for the remainder of the season.

Ayton turned the ball over on the first play of the game, a set designed specifically for him to get a seal at the rim against the smaller Onyeka Okongwu, but he failed to catch the pass. He wasn’t nearly assertive or composed enough the rest of the night, and the Lakers committed two more turnovers trying to feed him on similar seals. Early in the third quarter, with the Lakers trying to mount a comeback, Ayton had another rough stretch. He first got in Dončić’s way, causing a turnover in transition, then sank too deep in the paint, allowing Mouhamed Gueye to hit an open three. On the following set play, instead of finding Dončić for an easy layup off a cut, Ayton threw a soft pass that led to a turnover and two free throws on the other end. It was a devastating sequence that killed the momentum and prompted Redick to bench Ayton just three minutes into the second half. The move didn’t change much for the Lakers, as they continued their lackadaisical play, and Redick raised the white flag by benching the remaining starters midway through the third quarter.

Despite the loss, the Lakers are still 7–3, and given all the early-season absences, there isn’t a Lakers fan out there who wouldn’t have gladly taken that start. Losses like this happen in the NBA, but this one was bad enough that Redick should use it as another reference point. A reminder that the floor for this team, when it’s not fully focused, is lower than they might think.

Comments

LakerTom says

November 9, 2025 at 8:11 am

FROM ABOVE ARTICLE:

“Nothing.”

That’s how JJ Redick summed up what his team came up with last night. The other thing the visibly upset Redick revealed in a very brief postgame session was that he knew it would be a long night after the first two minutes.

The Lakers certainly looked like they’d had a long night before, coming out completely flat after two days of rest against a team on the second night of a back-to-back and missing four of its five best players. Yes, trap games like this, when you take it easy against an undermanned team, happen in an 82-game NBA season. The Lakers themselves just won one five days ago in Portland, in what we called a culture-setting win.

Still, this was a very disappointing showing. In my preview, I wrote that this and the next game in Charlotte were chances for the Lakers to prove their contender worth by taking care of business. They failed miserably at the first hurdle.

Programming note: With this game, we’ve reached the 10-game mark. So tomorrow, instead of the Hornets preview, I’ll publish an early trends piece looking at the first signals.

digginbasketball is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Today’s notes:

Not good enough for complacency

When Luka isn’t feeling the stage

Big-picture lesson I: too much finesse

Big-picture lesson II: Lakers struggles against speed and movement

The other side of Deandre Ayton

1-Not good enough for complacency

The most disappointing part about this game is that the Lakers aren’t good enough to afford that level of complacency. They were a surprising 7–2 heading into this one, but their net rating, defensive rank, and the way they’d won most games showed they’re not a top-five team yet. This is an undermanned group that’s been winning thanks to an outlier hot shooting start, hustle, and a few breaks going their way in close games.

Last night was a good reminder that their 7–3 record doesn’t fully reflect where they actually are as a team right now. It was their worst defensive performance of the season, dropping them to 22nd in defensive rating. That result, even with key absences, is another sign this team is still very much a work in progress.

2-When Luka isn’t feeling the stage

What makes Luka Dončić such a special player to watch is that, typically, the bigger the stage and the tougher the challenge, the better he performs. He lives for big-stage games — and you’ll take that every time from your superstar.

The downside of that equation is that in games where there’s no one to light that fire on the other end, you sometimes get a “meh” performance or even a stinker against bottom dwellers or depleted teams like the Hawks were. It’s not that Dončić, who had a 22/6/4 stat line at halftime, played terribly or was the main culprit in this defeat. This was a collective no-show, a low-energy, low-focus, no-urgency game, and Dončić was part of it. Without other leaders like James or Reaves to steady the ship, there was no one to prevent the wreck.

3-Big-picture lesson I: too much finesse

When everyone is locked in, the Lakers’ starting unit with Dončić, Rui Hachimura, Deandre Ayton, Austin Reaves, and eventually LeBron James will be one of the most offensively skilled groups in basketball. In past game observations, I’ve spent plenty of time praising Hachimura and Ayton for how their skill level exceeds that of a typical role player or fourth or fifth starter. Their ability to step up and score was instrumental in filling the gaps during the early absences of James, Dončić, and Reaves.

But like Dončić and Reaves, both Hachimura and Ayton are more finesse players than high-motor energizers who dominate through physicality and effort. Up to this point, Redick has done a good job of both pushing them to play harder and complementing them with high-motor players like Marcus Smart, Jake LaRavia, and Jarred Vanderbilt. But last night, the Lakers started out far too lackadaisical and unfocused, and the much hungrier Hawks simply ran away with it.

4-Big-picture lesson II: Lakers struggles against speed and movement

Speaking of running away, going into this game, as in almost every other one, I stressed in my preview that the Lakers are a precise, finesse, half-court team. They usually hold a clear edge in playmaking, but they don’t have the athleticism or speed to keep up in an open-floor game. The key to keeping the game in the half court is to avoid low-focus, unforced early turnovers, which have been a concerning pattern this season and allowed the young, fast Hawks to dominate the Lakers in transition.

The other issue exposed last night was the Lakers’ defense against teams that play fast, both with and without the ball. We’ve seen it against the Warriors, even in the win over Miami, and again last night. In my preview, I noted how Quin Snyder has his team driving and cutting, and the Hawks put on a cutting clinic against a stagnant and inattentive Lakers shell defense.

5-The other side of Deandre Ayton

Overall, Deandre Ayton was a positive surprise over the first ten games, and his contributions were crucial in several wins. Ayton’s effort and focus watch was a theme in most of my game observations. Games like last night are why that will remain the case for the remainder of the season.

Ayton turned the ball over on the first play of the game, a set designed specifically for him to get a seal at the rim against the smaller Onyeka Okongwu, but he failed to catch the pass. He wasn’t nearly assertive or composed enough the rest of the night, and the Lakers committed two more turnovers trying to feed him on similar seals. Early in the third quarter, with the Lakers trying to mount a comeback, Ayton had another rough stretch. He first got in Dončić’s way, causing a turnover in transition, then sank too deep in the paint, allowing Mouhamed Gueye to hit an open three. On the following set play, instead of finding Dončić for an easy layup off a cut, Ayton threw a soft pass that led to a turnover and two free throws on the other end. It was a devastating sequence that killed the momentum and prompted Redick to bench Ayton just three minutes into the second half. The move didn’t change much for the Lakers, as they continued their lackadaisical play, and Redick raised the white flag by benching the remaining starters midway through the third quarter.

Despite the loss, the Lakers are still 7–3, and given all the early-season absences, there isn’t a Lakers fan out there who wouldn’t have gladly taken that start. Losses like this happen in the NBA, but this one was bad enough that Redick should use it as another reference point. A reminder that the floor for this team, when it’s not fully focused, is lower than they might think.

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