The conundrum that is Deandre Ayton<\/a> is now living with the Lakers.<\/p>\n They see the talent and skills. But they still are searching for the right ways to maximize what Ayton can offer.<\/p>\n They see the passion and love for the game. They want to get that out of Ayton on a consistent basis.<\/p>\n They see his sensitivity. They know that to bring out the best in Ayton takes patience and constant encouragement.<\/p>\n When the Lakers watched film of their loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, Redick used lines like \u201cthere\u2019s positive trends\u201d with Ayton and lines like \u201che could be better\u201d in certain instances.<\/p>\n That is the paradox of Ayton.<\/p>\n As the Lakers enter the stretch run of the season with 26 games remaining, they need Ayton to play at a higher level more frequently if they are to be successful.<\/p>\n Against the Celtics, Ayton had just four points on two-for-six shooting. He had seven rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s positive trends,\u201d Redick said after practice Monday. \u201cWe did watch some film today. There was some real positive trends defensively. I think his spirit and engagement and stuff has been really good. I think for all the guys, if he has a smaller player on him, that\u2019s an advantage for us. Let\u2019s just get him the ball. I think it\u2019s just thematically across the team, we have to pass it to each other more and trust each other more. …<\/p>\n \u201cThere was a clip last night or a play last night, Jaylen Brown goes to the floor. We\u2019ve got a five-on-four and he [Ayton] goes at about 20% speed where it\u2019s clearly a man-down situation. So in terms of him running and putting pressure on the rim and offensive rebounding, particularly against switches and smaller players, he could be better there.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Redick, his staff and Ayton\u2019s teammates want to be clear that they support him at all times.<\/p>\n Earlier this season, Redick gave his 7-foot center a T-shirt featuring Ayton\u2019s face combined with the likeness of a lion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want him to be the lion,\u201d Redick said then.<\/p>\n \u201cI have his back,\u201d Redick said Monday. \u201cThese guys, we try to make them understand my job is to help the Lakers try to win basketball games. And so nothing is ever personal. If he doesn\u2019t close a game, it\u2019s not personal. It\u2019s because I think there\u2019s a better option. And that\u2019s not just true for him personally. There\u2019s essentially three guys on our team that if they\u2019re on the lineup, they\u2019re going to close games and everybody else [will rotate]. We talked about that today.\u201d<\/p>\n Ayton is producing the lowest averages of his NBA career in points (13.0), rebounds (8.4) and minutes (28.1). His field-goal attempts (8.9) and makes (5.9) are lows too, but he\u2019s shooting a career-high 66.6%. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s done OK,\u201d said Marcus Smart, who sits next to Ayton in the \u2019 locker room. \u201cYou know, he definitely could be better; we all could. But the thing I love about it is he understands it and he\u2019s working. We all are trying to figure it out; this is new to everybody. He\u2019s doing his best, but he understands it\u2019s another notch that we need him to go to, and we\u2019re going to try to get him there and help with that. But he knows he\u2019s got to do his part as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Ayton plays on a team with three dominant ballhandlers in Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, and it is their job to feed the 7-footer. Getting Ayton activated has been a positive for the Lakers. When he doesn\u2019t get the touches, Ayton hasn\u2019t been as productive.<\/p>\n Still, NBA scouts say Ayton can do a little more himself. He can run harder on the fast break, seal his man down low and play with force, roll to the basket with a purpose, use his athleticism to his advantage and play defense and rebound at a higher level.<\/p>\n Ayton came into the NBA with high expectations, the first overall pick in the 2018 draft, even going ahead of Doncic. Over five seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Ayton was a double-double machine, averaging 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds. He shot the ball more, averaging 12.5 field goal attempts per game. He averaged 12.8 in two seasons in Portland.<\/p>\n With the Lakers, he\u2019s had to adjust his game.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s a big adjustment,\u201d Smart said. \u201cIt was an adjustment for me when I came in \u2026 The type of player I was in college and coming in and the way I played both offensively and defensively, [now I\u2019m] taking a more defensive approach more than offensive. So it definitely can be frustrating and it\u2019s definitely a challenge because you still value and look at the opportunity that you have to be that person. But unfortunately, sometimes the circumstances don\u2019t call for it. That\u2019s the hard part, understanding that early. Like I said, we all could do better at that because we all want to win. Deandre is doing the best he can, and we appreciate that. We love it too because he also uses that to motivate himself, which can be a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n (Greg Beacham \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n After Pat Riley had his statue unveiled<\/a> Sunday on Star Plaza outside of Crypto.com Arena, he took time to praise Redick.<\/p>\n Riley led the Lakers to four NBA championships in the \u201880s, his coaching style a big part of the Showtime era. He likes what he sees out of Redick and the Lakers.<\/p>\n \u201cI love JJ. I really do,\u201d Riley said. \u201cI competed against him. My teams competed against him, you know, in various teams that he played with. He\u2019s a fiery guy. He could shoot the hell out of the ball. He was tough as nails, you know. I don\u2019t know. Sometimes I look back and I remember myself at that time and I looked at JJ and I think they picked the right person [for the Lakers job]. There\u2019s just a quality about him, I think, that goes above and beyond. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd they have a hell of a team for him right here, right now with Doncic and Reaves and obviously with LeBron. And so I think Rob [Pelinka, president of basketball operations] will continue with the new ownership to build that team and to complement those players. But they have a great opportunity and I think JJ will be a great coach for it.\u201d<\/p>\n Tuesday<\/b> vs. Orlando (30-26), 7:30 p.m.<\/b><\/p>\n The Magic are a deep and versatile team, with six players who score in double figures. Paolo Banchero leads them in scoring (21.5) and rebounds (8.4) and is second in assists (5.0). He\u2019s shooting 45% from the field. Desmond Bane is one of three Orlando players averaging more than 20 points at 20.1, making 48.3% of his shots and 38.8% of his threes. He just dropped 36 in a win over the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n Thursday<\/b> at Phoenix (33-25), 7 p.m. <\/b>PST<\/b><\/p>\n Injuries are starting to take a toll on the Suns. Dillon Brooks has a broken left hand and reportedly is out four to six weeks. This comes on the heels of All-Star Devin Booker missing at least one week because of a right hip strain and fellow guards Grayson Allen (ankle\/knee) and Jordan Goodwin (calf) also dealing with injuries.<\/p>\n Saturday<\/b> at Golden State (30-27), 5:30 p.m.<\/b><\/p>\n The Warriors don\u2019t have All-Star guard Stephen Curry (knee) and forward Jimmy Butler (torn ACL), leaving them without a lot of offensive firepower. The Warriors have been leaning on guard Brandin Podziemski to keep them afloat. He is averaging 12.1 points per game.<\/p>\n Sunday<\/b> vs. Sacramento (12-46), 6:30 p.m.<\/b><\/p>\n The Kings have the worst record in the NBA. They have three players with season-ending surgeries \u2014 De\u2019Andre Hunter (eye), Domantas Sabonis (knee) and Zach LaVine (hand).<\/p>\n Jaxson Hayes: right ankle injury<\/b><\/p>\n Redick said Hayes, who left Sunday\u2019s game, got an MRI on Monday that showed his ankle had \u201ca little bruise.\u201d Hayes, the backup center, is day to day, Redick said. The Lakers listed Hayes as doubtful for Tuesday night\u2019s game against the Magic at Crypto.com Arena.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see how he feels tomorrow morning,\u201d Redick said..<\/p>\n Risotto col codeghin e la peara from Tre Risotti Trattoria.<\/p>\n (Thuc Nhi Nguyen \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n Ciao! It\u2019s Thuc Nhi checking in a final time from the Olympics. My final dinner of the Games had to honor northern Italy, so instead of just pizza or pasta, I went searching specifically for risotto. In Verona, before the closing ceremony, I asked the server at Tre Risotti Trattoria what the most popular risotto was and she suggested the risotto col codeghin e la peara<\/i> (risotto with sausage and pepper sauce). She didn\u2019t miss. The salty, creamy bite with the crunchy crouton around the plate was the ideal way to end my third Olympics Games. Arrivederci!<\/p>\n With Pat Riley watching, Lakers routed by Celtics in rivalry game<\/a> <\/p>\n Plaschke: During statue unveiling, Pat Riley reminds the disjointed Lakers of keys to winning<\/a> <\/p>\n Statue outside Lakers\u2019 arena is another first for Pat Riley, the consummate coach<\/a> <\/p>\n Luka Doncic and Lakers hold off Clippers after Kawhi Leonard exits late<\/a> <\/p>\n Lon Rosen to take over business operations for the Lakers<\/a> <\/p>\n As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com<\/u><\/a>, and please consider subscribing<\/a> if you like our work!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where we dive into how to get the best out of big man Deandre Ayton and hear iconic Lakers coach Pat Riley praise current Lakers coach JJ Redick and his team. The conundrum that is Deandre Ayton is now living with the Lakers. All things Lakers, all the time. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Lakers-are-trying-to-unlock-the-greatness-in-Deandre-Ayton.com2Ff52Fb72F637318294ee5996dc9ac163d.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21742"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21742\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21744,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21742\/revisions\/21744"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}All things Lakers, all the time. <\/h3>\n<\/header><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Riley praises Redick, Lakers<\/h2>\n
On tap<\/h2>\n
Status report<\/h2>\n
Favorite thing I ate this week<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
In case you missed it<\/h2>\n
Until next time…<\/h2>\n
\n
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