Lakers superstar Luka Doncic is adjusting to life in LA quickly, and coach JJ Redick has seemingly contributed to it, at least on the court. Redick, Doncic’s former teammate in Dallas, has coached him to 10 wins in 15 games, including a seven-game winning streak.

Doncic has averaged 26.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 8.1 assists in his young Lakers career, shooting 40.0%, including 33.6% from 3. It took a while for him to adjust to his new team after a shocking trade he didn’t see coming, but he has seemingly found his groove.

Redick’s attention to detail and basketball acumen have catered to Doncic’s strengths, and the 26-year-old superstar attested to that after Monday’s 125-109 home win over the Spurs.

“Makes my life easier,” Doncic said about Redick (2:38). “Those actions that he put … There was one ATO (after timeout) today, where we ran it twice and we just scored on alley-oops, so that explains JJ’s mind. The way he sees basketball, it’s amazing.”

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JJ Redick has mostly kept Luka Doncic on the ball, allowing him to run the offense at his pace. The play calling fits Doncic’s style, which is more traditional pick and rolls and mismatch hunting.

On Monday, Redick preferred organized offensive playcalling more than freelance behind Doncic’s improved chemistry with his teammates, and LA generated 34 assists on 44 made shots. The Lakers were 19 of 48 from 3-point range.

Luka Doncic recorded 14 assists and committed just three turnovers. He added 21 points and nine rebounds.

Luka Doncic struggled in Jason Kidd’s “off-ball” strategy with Mavericks before Lakers trade

Coming into the 2024-25 NBA season, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd’s strategy was to infuse more off-ball style for Luka Doncic, something the superstar point guard hasn’t done much in his career. Doncic has been the focus of the system for all the teams he’s played on because of his scoring and playmaking ability.

Not many players in the league can handle all kinds of defensive coverage better than him without much help. However, Kidd believed it was in the best interests of the team if Doncic learned how to play without the ball.

Doncic took time to adjust and even expressed the elements that stood out in that process.

“Just overall. Just playing without the ball. Just all of it,” Doncic said in November.

After Doncic missed some time because of an injury late in November, Kidd said he wanted the Mavericks to play at the same pace they did without Doncic and that his star player would have to adjust to that flow.

“Normally you take a step back to wait on him, “Kidd said. “We’ve gotta continue to keep pushing the pace. He’ll find a way to make it work. We’re excited to hopefully have him back shortly.”

Luka Doncic got injured in his final game as a Maverick and got traded in February. Since then, under JJ Redick, he has played off the ball. However, it has been a seamless fit with more player and ball movement, with Doncic handling the tempo and pace for the team.

Redick has drawn up plays for Doncic to get the ball coming off screens, so he doesn’t tire himself out hunting mismatches and attacking in space. The offense is tailored toward Doncic and his high-usage rate, with LeBron James and Austin Reaves also making adjustments to accommodate the Slovenian.