JJ Redick ‘highly encouraged’ by Lakers offensive process vs. Warriors

Despite having their lowest preseason point total, Lakers coach JJ Redick liked much of what he saw from the offense against the Warriors.

Mustering just 97 points in their preseason loss versus the Golden State Warriors, you might think this was a poor offensive showing for the Lakers. In many ways, you'd be right.

This was Los Angeles' lowest point total this preseason and tied for the second-worst 3-point percentage, converting on 27.5% of their 40 attempts.

Still, head coach JJ Redick was generally positive about the offense when reflecting on the process after the contest.

"I was highly encouraged with the shots we got,” Redick said. “Highly encouraged. It was when we didn't trust our offense and got a little stagnant, ball stuck. That was the beginning of the third quarter. We had 19 points, I think, in the third and AD had eight on four straight possessions in iso ball – which I called those plays because he hadn't touched it. I mean, that was just, we didn't play good offense that quarter. That happens sometimes and it's a growth opportunity, it's a learning lesson for our group.

"Our execution, ball movement, passing, all that stuff…I thought it was great in the first half. We just didn't make shots and that's human nature, it's a tendency of groups, of players. I've lived it. Again, a lot of these things I've lived. So I have some experience and some perspective on it. You stop trusting it and you start, 'I gotta get myself going. I gotta get myself going,' and it's not how we want to play and that's ok. That's ok. It happens, we'll get better."

So the Lakers struggled to score and shot poorly but had an encouraging offense. How can all of this be true?

Well, while the numbers don't lie, they lack context. When you watch that first half, you see effective ball movement and many of the 3-point shots were good looks.

Also, in this preseason game, you got a lackadaisical LeBron James, which won't happen for entire games next week when the regular season starts.

Process and results ideally go hand-in-hand, but this game is an example that it doesn't always.

While the Lakers did play their projected regular season rotations in the first half, the third quarter featured many of the younger guys and by the fourth, the South Bay Lakers were getting most of the run.

Anthony Davis was incredible when the contest was serious and the Lakers were competitive against the Warriors during those minutes.

Now, there is concern that while the offense looks nice, their personnel can't execute it. Redick seems to want many 3-pointers to get shot and so far, the team has struggled to convert on them.

This was their second 11-40 shooting night from deep this preseason. They are mediocre from 3-point range, averaging 29.5% during the preseason. That places the Lakers 15th in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage.

Again, it's just preseason and the sample size is small. The law of averages says 11-40 nights will not be common during an 82-game season.

Still, how many great shooters do the Lakers have?

D'Angelo Russell is the franchise leader in 3-point makes and last season, LeBron and Rui Hachimura were the only other Lakers besides Russell to average over 40% from downtown.

Can they increase their volume and not decrease their percentages? Will they be able to adjust to this offense and win games, or will there be a lot of growing pains early on adjusting to a new coach and a new system?

The Western Conference is tough, so hopefully, the Lakers can get to a solid start and rack up wins early on while they smooth things out.

We'll find out soon enough, with the regular season just days away.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.