Austin Reaves at Center of Lakers’ Rotation Shift as Redick Expands Minutes
The Los Angeles Lakers have adjusted how they deploy their core trio — LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves — with coach JJ Redick widening his rotation and players accepting lower usage to improve team balance. Austin Reaves figures prominently in those changes as the Lakers work to maximize lineups that have underperformed when the three play together.
JJ Redick expands rotation and targets fit around Austin Reaves
JJ Redick has moved away from his usual nine-man rotation in recent games, opening minutes to a 10th player when matchups demand it. That shift was applied after a tough loss that featured a nine-man plan, and Redick used a 10-man group in subsequent games against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, results that the Lakers turned into two blowout wins. Redick has framed the adjustment as a way to identify which role players best complement different combinations of stars — for example, which pieces work with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves versus which fit alongside LeBron James and Reaves.
The coach has also set a benchmark for evaluating lineup samples, saying 250 minutes is when things start to normalize. The three-man combination of Dončić, James and Reaves has already exceeded that threshold, a fact that makes the search for dependable supporting lineups more urgent.
Trio minutes, measurable impact and the offense
When the Lakers have had Dončić, James and Reaves sharing the court, the results have been mixed. The trio has logged 297 minutes together and played 17 games as a unit, producing an 11-6 record in those contests. Yet their offensive output with all three on the floor has lagged: the Lakers have scored 109. 2 points per 100 possessions in those minutes, a mark that ranks near the bottom of the league in that sample.
Even in a 110-101 home win over the New Orleans Pelicans, the three were outscored by 10 points during their shared minutes, though they did close the game effectively in crunch time. In one late sequence, Reaves found himself switched onto Pelicans power forward Zion Williamson; Williamson got into the paint but was met by converging defense from Dončić and James. Those kinds of defensive recoveries have helped the unit at times, but they have not fully offset the offensive friction when all three want the ball.
Usage-rate shifts after the All-Star break and the sacrifice asked of Reaves
The Lakers have deliberately reduced individual usage rates since the All-Star break to balance the offense. Over the full season LeBron James’ usage sits at 27. 3%, the lowest mark of his career, while Dončić led the league at 36. 2% entering a recent game and Austin Reaves averaged 26. 9% for the season. Post-break, those rates shifted: Dončić’s usage fell from 36. 6% to 33. 9%, James’ dropped from 27. 4% to 26. 5%, and Reaves experienced the largest decline, from 28% to 22. 4%.
Those decreases have translated into fewer points, field-goal attempts and free-throw attempts for Dončić, James and Reaves since the break, with James and Reaves also averaging fewer assists. The trade-off has had a measurable effect: the Lakers have produced the league’s fifth-best offense in the post-break stretch, albeit against weaker competition in that span. The timing matters because this prolonged healthy stretch is the first extended look at the trio together, and the team has roughly five and a half weeks left in the regular season to settle the rotation.
What makes this notable is that the Lakers’ improved team offense coincides with deliberate reductions in usage for all three stars, suggesting the sacrifices are producing collective gains even as individual numbers dip. Redick’s expanded 10-man approach is intended to speed that process — giving him more minutes to evaluate role fits before the rotation inevitably tightens heading into the postseason.
Redick has acknowledged the challenge bluntly: when the three best players are on the floor, “someone, or in some cases, people have to sacrifice. ” The Lakers appear to be answering that call by altering minutes, accepting lower individual usage, and experimenting with personnel until the combinations of LeBron James, Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves operate more efficiently together.
