LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers sit one game away from elimination after their Game 3 loss in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the Lakers searching for answers to try and extend their season, head coach JJ Redick switched up the team’s rotation by playing rookie Adou Thiero in Games 2 and 3.
Redick’s hand was forced in Game 2 after Jarred Vanderbilt was ruled out with a hand injury. But in Game 3, with Vanderbilt cleared to play, Redick stuck with Thiero who even supplanted the struggling Jake LaRavia in the rotation.
Thiero responded with eight rebounds in 13 minutes, and three of those boards coming on the offensive end. He displayed his brand of energy and hustle that has come to define his rookie season thus far. When he’s gotten minutes with the Lakers, defense and rebounding are where he’s been most effective.
For Thiero, it comes down to trying to impact the game by doing all the small things. Knowing how he can contribute and fit around the rest of the roster without scoring the ball.
“It’s just all the little things, the stuff that you can’t teach. It’s effort, just trying to go out there and give all the effort that I have,” Thiero said following Lakers’ practice on Sunday. “Even if I make a mistake or anything, trying to play as hard as I can to make up for that mistake or anything. But just going out there and playing hard.”
Looking across social media, Lakers fans have been clamoring for Adou Thiero to get a shot in the team’s rotation all season. But it was a little more complicated than that. Thiero had a late rookie debut after rehabbing from a knee injury suffered while he was in college.
He returned to the lineup in mid-November and spent plenty of time getting up to speed in the G League with South Bay. But he suffered another setback about halfway through the regular season with another knee issue that sidelined him for a brief period.
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Redick has acknowledged all season that the plan with Thiero has been to prioritize his long-term health. He appeared in a total of 25 games at just about six minutes per game. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the 3-point line.
But now with the Lakers needing some kind of jolt to keep their season alive, he’s being counted on to help fill some of the gaps in the rotation.
“I prayed for moments like these and worked for moments like these. So just to get that opportunity, it’s been special to go out there and do what I can for the guys,” Thiero said. “It’s definitely very intense. You got a loud atmosphere. Everybody’s into it every possession, just leave it all out there. It’s very intense. I felt the change in pace and everything as soon as I got out there.”
Thiero hasn’t quite been able to make an impact on the offensive end just yet, and he knows there are things he needs to continue to work on. But his role isn’t to score the ball, at least not yet, and the coaching staff has made it clear to him that they’re pleased with his playoff minutes so far.
“They told me I did a lot of good things, but there’s still some things that I need to work on,” Thiero said. “Granted I haven’t gotten many reps, but still got to be disciplined in what we’re doing as a team and just keep picking up our principles and everything.”
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers sit one game away from elimination after their Game 3 loss in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. With the Lakers searching for answers to try and extend their season, head coach JJ Redick switched up the team’s rotation by playing rookie Adou Thiero in Games 2 and 3.