EL SEGUNDO — It’s not every day when both a coach and his player were known for their 3-point acumen, and are more than willing to tell each other all about it.
Ask Lakers coach JJ Redick or swingman Luke Kennard; give them 100 looks in an empty gym, and they’ll make the claim that they can sink more shots than the other. On a good day, Redick, who made 41.5% of his 3-point attempts in his 15-year NBA career, said he could make 88 or 89 out of 100.
He called himself a better movement shooter than his fellow Duke alumnus, before Redick claimed he was just kidding. But was he?
“No. I’m not,” Redick quipped.
Kennard said he could land in the high 80s with his attempts. But when told about his coach’s proclamation over his hypothetical practice results, the 29-year-old sharpshooter changed his mind.
“I’d probably be right,” said Kennard, who is a career 44.3% 3-point shooter, “just right above (Redick).”
Kennard was at the center of the playful banter over becoming potentially the seventh player in NBA history to breach the 50% 3-point milestone for a single season. As of Monday afternoon, he sits at exactly 50%. Kennard leads the league in 3-point percentage, something he has already done twice in his nine-season career – coming close to making half of his attempts in 2022-23 with the Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies when he converted 49.7% of his shots.
“Every time Luke shoots the ball, we think it’s going in,” forward Jake LaRavia said. “And I think he has the same mindset. We want him to shoot more. Because again, every time he shoots the ball, he’s got a good chance of making it.”
Since joining the Lakers (39-25) in a trade deadline swap that sent Gabe Vincent and a future second-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks, Kennard has made 51.1% of his 3-point looks (averaging 3.4 attempts per game) in 14 games.
“I thought he was a really good shooter at Duke,” Redick said. “He’s developed into an elite shooter and really just a fantastic playmaker. And I think the gravity of his shot, both from a spacing standpoint and from a blender standpoint, so the overreaction to the threat of his shot when he gets the ball just allows him to touch the paint for us, allows him to get the blender started.”
Redick mentioned an after-timeout play in the first quarter of the Lakers’ game in Denver when he called an offensive set – a Finland action – to get Kennard an open look from behind the arc. Kennard passed up the shot, instead clanking a mid-range look off the backboard.
“There was a lot of discussion about that,” said Redick, whose Lakers teammates have actively spoken about encouraging Kennard to shoot more.
During Sunday’s 110-97 victory over the New York Knicks, Kennard didn’t pass it up a second time. Running a similar play – although Redick specified that it was not “Finland” – Kennard drained a 3-pointer through contact, leading to a four-point play that extended their lead to 91-69 in the fourth quarter.
“It was basically the same exact play that I turned down a shot in Denver,” said Kennard, who scored 12 points off the bench Sunday. “I watched it before our game yesterday, and he told me during the game, and then he drew up basically the same type of play in that fourth quarter. And that’s when I got the and-one three.”
“And we talked about it again as soon as, as soon as I came out, he’s like, ‘Yeah, you shot that one,’” Kennard added. “They want me to be aggressive, they want me to shoot, and you know, it just gives you confidence when you’re out there, ultimate-green light, and I just got to be ready for it.”
Kennard said playing alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves has allowed him to be the most open he’s been in his career. Kennard referenced facing the Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks earlier in his career and marveling at how open his teammates were for 3s because of the threat and activity Doncic provides when he’s handling the ball.
“It’s definitely something you think about like, ‘Man, I wish that was me there getting those open looks,’” Kennard said. “But now, it’s a reality and it’s been great.”
When it comes to finishing the regular season above 50% from 3-point range, however, the newest Laker said he’s not thinking too much about the milestone. But he did admit that it would be a rewarding achievement should he be able to remain at or above the barrier with 18 games left in the schedule.
“I think it’ll kind of even out at the end of the day, but it would be really cool if that happened,” Kennard said. “But at the same time, it’s just trying to get attempts and just being aggressive in that aspect. Whatever happens, happens.”
NO PRACTICE FOR LeBRON
LeBron James, who missed Sunday’s game with a left elbow contusion and left foot arthritis, did not practice on Monday and was the only non-participant on the roster. James remains day to day and could potentially miss his third consecutive game when the Lakers host the Minnesota Timberwolves (40-24) on Tuesday night.
TIMBERWOLVES AT LAKERS
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/Radio: Spectrum SportsNet, NBC (Ch. 4), Peacock/710 AM, 980 AM