JJ Redick Discusses Collin Sexton’s Role In Extending Lakers’ Winning Streak Amid Austin Reaves’ Absence

The shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Atlanta Hawks 124-114 on the road tonight without their star player, Austin Reaves , who was out with an illness after a 43-point game last night . In his absence, Collin Sexton stepped in as the secondary ball handler for Luka Doncic and played a key role in the Lakers’ win tonight. He finished with 18 points, six assists, two rebounds, and one steal, shooting 6-11 from the field (54.5% FG) and 3-4 from beyond the arc (75.0% 3P). After the game, JJ Redick spoke to the media at the postgame press conference and discussed Collin Sexton’s impact on the floor in Austin Reaves’ absence. “The last two games have been a great example of next guy up. And I’ve talked about this before; there’s a compounding effect to having the guys out of the lineup. Do you have enough ball-handling on the floor, enough rebounding on the floor, or enough shooting on the floor?” “You lose AR, you lose Q, and now you’re down a couple of guys, so I thought Collin did a really nice job of attacking the paint, scoring, giving us some juice, especially in the first half,” JJ Redick initially said while talking about how the team got the win tonight. “Well, he got a technical for talking to himself; I don’t understand that one. But I think the biggest thing we’re trying to do is get organized. And there are glimpses of really good organization when he’s out there as the primary ball handler,” JJ Redick further dove into Sexton’s role with the Lakers. “We got a little squirrely there at the end of the second quarter. I thought, for the most part, outside of the first few minutes in the third quarter where I had to call the timeout, I think we did a pretty good job of being organized and getting good shots,” he further said on Sexton’s performance tonight. When injuries or absences force JJ Redick to change the Lakers’ rotation, having a veteran like Collin Sexton available off the bench gives him another reliable option. Although his scoring is valuable, his willingness to take on responsibility and generate offense may be even more crucial. Having someone who can provide immediate offense while maintaining the second unit’s organization is a major luxury for a Lakers team hoping to win a championship. Another sign of Sexton’s value beyond scoring was his performance against the Hawks tonight. The Lakers now move on to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, November 12. It will be interesting to see whether Sexton can keep bringing this intensity off the bench when the team is fully healthy.