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Why Lakers’ Jake LaRavia isn’t counting his made shots during preseason resurgence

Jake LaRavia shoots against Warriors forward Yaxel Lendeborg during a preseason game.

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Welcome to this week’s Lakers newsletter, where we’re getting anxious for the return of (real) NBA basketball.

The Lakers jammed three preseason games into four nights and still have two more exhibitions before the Oct. 21 season opener. Some of the preseason has been exciting. Most of it has been, as coach JJ Redick called the first quarter against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 6, “insane.”

While none of this officially counts, don’t tell the Lakers it doesn’t matter. There are significant mental gains to be made during this preseason time and, as one Laker player is learning, those are the first and most important steps to success during the regular season.

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‘Summer of reflection’

Jake LaRavia warms up his body in a buzzing arena before a game, knocking down shots from all areas of the court and pivoting around assistant coaches. Just as important as his public pregame routine is how he warms up his mind in a quiet locker room.

LaRavia’s strong preseason starts in his journal, where he writes daily goals and intentions, and ends at the bottom of the net, where his tweaked three-point shot is as strong as it’s ever been.

The 6-foot-7 forward is shooting 54.5% (6-for-11) from three during the preseason, a promising sign after LaRavia had the worst shooting season of his career. LaRavia shot 32.1% from three during his first season with the Lakers when he was one of 18 players in the NBA to appear in all 82 regular-season games but fell out of the rotation during the postseason.

Toward the end of the inconsistent regular season, LaRavia told Austin Reaves in a casual conversation he would work to become one of the best shooters on the team. It was just the first step of LaRavia’s “summer of reflection and intentionality.”

“The one thing that kind of changed for me this year was focusing more on the input rather than the output,” LaRavia said. “So not really focused on my makes or my misses, but am I doing everything in my control to give myself the best opportunity to make the shot?”

Lamenting the disappointing end to last season, LaRavia was just 11-for-42 (26.2%) from three during March and April. The memory of LaRavia’s season-high 27 points on 10-of-11 shooting that resulted in a viral “Who is No. 12?” moment faded away.

LaRavia acknowledged he may have ridden the highs and lows of the season too dramatically. Once he started feeling too comfortable with his play, it made handling any adversity more difficult. By the end, he watched the Lakers’ last two playoff games from the bench.

“I hit a mental lapse last season and I wasn’t able to shake back from it,” LaRavia said. “And as a professional athlete, that can happen, but when you play on this stage, that can’t happen.”

Strengthening LaRavia’s mental approach to the game was the top priority for the offseason. One of his coaches mentioned that jotting down his thoughts might help. LaRavia has turned the practice into a consistent routine. Recently, Reaves marveled at LaRavia’s approach, acknowledging he could never put his thoughts on paper.

“Not every player is willing to do that and be proactive about [mental health],” Redick said of LaRavia. “When we sat down for our meeting at the end of the season, those are the two things that we talked about: Being proactive about your mental health, being proactive about your shooting. And he did both of those things this summer.”

A 37.1% three-point shooter before last season, LaRavia already had a strong base with his shot, Redick said. There were just a few tweaks the coach who shot 41.5% from three during his 15-year NBA career wanted to suggest.

Mechanically, LaRavia has shifted the ball slightly to the right, lining it up directly over his right shoulder to make the shot “a little bit more linear,” he said. Minuscule changes have resulted in a major improvement. LaRavia reported to Redick and assistant coach Beau Levesque that this is the most confident he’s felt with his three-point shot in years.

“Ultimately the tweaks don’t matter if they don’t give you confidence,” Redick said. “And so I feel like he’s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence right now, and he feels confident in his shot.”

LaRavia, entering a contract year, understands how he can best keep his confidence up. It won’t be by counting made shots or points. Instead, he finds strength in the consistent journal entries that lay out the same intentions before each preseason game: stay aggressive with his shots, play hard defensively, play through fatigue and control what he can.

He’ll let the stats count themselves.

Learn the name

Sandro Mamukelashvili drives to the basket with Kings guard Daeqwon Plowden defending during a preseason game.

During his first game as the Lakers’ new in-arena announcer, Derrin Horton — already facing the responsibility of replacing the legendary Lawrence Tanter — navigated the especially tricky task of pronouncing Sandro Mamukelashvili’s name.

Sometimes after a made basket, Horton would announce the Georgian forward’s full name, stretching out the “O” at the end of his first name, then hurriedly tripping through his lengthy last name. Other times, Horton acknowledged a Mamukelashvili three by using just his last name, experimenting with which of the many syllables to emphasize.

But whether calling him by first name, last name, both or by nickname, just make sure to put respect on the Lakers forward’s game that’s too varied to fit in a single position.

“I’m a basketball player,” said “Mamu” when asked of his role on the Lakers. “Wherever you put me, I’ll try to do my best.”

Mamukelashvili is averaging 14 points per game with a team-high 11 total assists in three preseason games and six rebounds. Starting one game at center for the Walker Kessler-less preseason Lakers, Mamukelashvili is also shooting 57.1% from the field (16 for 28) and three-point range (eight for 14).

The free agent acquisition’s versatility, especially on offense, has Redick excited to install a player-specific package of plays and after-timeout calls for Mamukelashvili. Defensively, the Lakers are still learning the best matchups for the power forward/center. That will take time, Redick acknowledged.

Mamukelashvili is still trying to find his place on his fifth team in six NBA seasons. Teammates noticed the 6-foot-9 forward who has finally found security with a four-year contract was struggling early during training camp because Mamukelashvili was “worried about doing the right thing every single possession,” Reaves said. Reaves, Redick and Luka Doncic all spoke to Mamukelashvili individually.

“We told him that he’s here for a reason and we believe in him and we want him to be himself and that’s been the main message to him,” Reaves said. “He’s got such a high basketball IQ that if he gets the rebound, he should basically play the one. … If he gets it and goes and has a good matchup, we trust whatever he has planned to do.”

Mamukelashvili’s offensive versatility comes from a diverse basketball background that started in his native Georgia and reached Italy when he was a teenager. Coaches never told him because he was a big man that he had to play like one. Mamukelashvili said he liked trying “magic tricks with the ball” like his idol Toni Kukoc.

His skills have the stamp of approval from even the Lakers’ resident magician.

“I think just his ability to handle the ball and see the court,” Doncic said of what has stood out to him about Mamukelashvili. “Some of his passes I think are very underrated.”

That won’t be the case for much longer if the Lakers’ season goes as planned. Everyone could soon recognize Mamukelashvili’s unique name and game.

On tap

Tuesday vs. Warriors, 7 p.m. PDT (Las Vegas)

Playing the Warriors for the second time this preseason, the Lakers are still hoping to get a look at their full-strength team. Kessler (finger) could make his preseason debut, although guard Collin Sexton (lower leg) is further behind on the return-to-play timeline.

Friday vs. Nuggets, 7:30 p.m.

Redick called last season’s preseason finale “a dress rehearsal,” so expect the Lakers to try some of their most game-ready rotations. This is also the last in-game chance for fringe players to state their cases for roster spots or two-way or G League contracts. Dalton Knecht and Jarred Vanderbilt remain on the edge of the 15-man roster limit with less than two weeks remaining until the season opener.

Favorite thing I ate this week

Pho dac biet at Pho Hue Oi in Redondo Beach.

Pho dac biet at Pho Hue Oi in Redondo Beach. (Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

Craving pho but refusing the idea of hot soup when it was 100 degrees outside, I was desperately waiting for the end of the recent heatwaves. The welcome sight of clouds brought me back to one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants, Pho Hue Oi in Redondo Beach. I always start with the banh beo chen (steamed rice cakes with shrimp and pork, not pictured) because this is the only easily-accessible-from-the-Westside Vietnamese restaurant that has this unique dish from my family’s hometown. Then I needed to welcome the cool weather with a classic bowl of pho dac biet. Bring on cozy season.