“Deandre Ayton Had Trouble Catching the Ball,” JJ Redick reveals a bigger LA Lakers problem at the worst possible time

JJ Redick’s latest public assessment of Deandre Ayton did more than explain one rotation choice. It exposed the tension between what the Los Angeles Lakers want from their starting center and what they are actually getting from him as the playoffs approach. With the Lakers battered by injuries, sliding in the Western Conference race, and trying to hold together a season that had recently looked revived.

Redick’s unusually direct criticism came after a blowout loss, during a stretch in which Los Angeles has been forced to rethink roles, lineups, and how much it can still count on its remaining regulars. Redick’s explanation was that the Lakers have in fact called actions for Ayton, but the possessions are breaking down at the catch point.

In other words, the coach said the team tried, and the center did not finish the first step of the play. With Los Angeles already under pressure, his words sounded serious. Redick made the comment after the Lakers were routed 123-87 by Oklahoma City, a game in which tensions also spilled onto the sideline with Jarred Vanderbilt and Redick criticized multiple players publicly.

Ayton finished that night with only three points, and the coach’s comments placed him directly in the accountability spotlight. The Lakers signed Ayton believing he could be a low-maintenance interior answer who finished plays, protected the rim, and gave their stars an easy target. At his best this season, he has looked exactly like that. At his worst, however, as Redick made painfully clear, even the simplest connection has broken down. And when a contender reaches April and starts questioning whether its center can reliably complete the first catch of a designed action, the issue is deeper than one realizes.

1. The Shocking JJ Redick Comment on Deandre Ayton

In an exchange with reporters, the Lakers coach was asked what new things he wanted Ayton to do after practice before the Dallas game. His answer was stark and revealing in a way coaches rarely allow themselves to be in public. He said, “He’s had trouble catching the ball. So we’ve ran a bunch of players for him, he’s just had trouble catching the ball. I don’t know if that’s the passing or if it’s him trying to get possession. He just—he hasn’t been able to…” His “Trouble catching the ball” comment may sound simple, but it touches almost every responsibility of a modern center, i.e., screening angles, timing on rolls, hand readiness, balance through contact, and chemistry with ballhandlers.

2. Deandre Ayton’s Lakers Nightmare: Why This Center Trouble Has Been Brewing for Months

Earlier in the season, Redick openly acknowledged that Ayton was frustrated because he did not feel he was getting the ball enough. That earlier public honesty now gives this latest comment even more force, because it shows the relationship between touches and role has been under discussion for months. Ayton himself added to that conversation in January when he said, “Bigs can’t feed themselves,” a line that effectively defended the center’s dependence on guards and playmakers to create his chances. It pushed some of the responsibility back toward the perimeter creators and the team’s offensive organization. Ayton attempted to portray himself less as a passive star waiting for post-ups and more as a finisher dependent on precision around him. There have also been flashes showing why the Lakers made the bet in the first place. In preseason, the Lakers’ pick-and-roll offense showed promise as Austin Reaves and Ayton developed chemistry. In January, Ayton delivered one of the cleanest games of his Lakers tenure, scoring 25 points on 10-for-10 shooting with 13 rebounds against Toronto. Those performances supported the argument that the fit can work when the spacing, passing, and timing line up correctly. More recently, the tone around Ayton had actually improved. Ayton said he was “110 percent” bought in with the Lakers, embracing a lower-usage role focused on effort, rim protection, rebounding, and running the floor. That made him look like a player who had accepted that this team did not need him to be a featured scorer every night. That is what makes Redick’s latest criticism feel so jarring. It interrupts a storyline that had started to settle into mutual acceptance. The earlier tension was about touches. The newer optimism was about buy-in. Redick’s newest comment suggests there is still a more basic disconnect. Even when Los Angeles wants to involve Ayton, the offense can bog down before he can convert role acceptance into actual production.

3. Playoff Disaster Looms As Doncic and Reaves Injuries Expose the Lakers’ Biggest Weaknes

The Lakers are not dealing with this in a comfortable moment. They are 50-29 and locked in a crowded race near the top of the Western Conference, sitting fourth behind Oklahoma City, San Antonio, and Denver, level on record with Houston. That means every remaining game matters for seeding, home-court advantage, and the shape of a postseason path that looked far more favorable just days ago. Austin Reaves is out for the rest of the regular season with a Grade 2 oblique strain after averaging 23.3 points per game, while Luka Doncic has a Grade 2 left hamstring strain that rules him out for the rest of the regular season and could threaten the opening round. LeBron James also missed the Thunder game for left foot injury management. That combination has stripped Los Angeles of scoring, ballhandling, and much of the structure that would ordinarily make life easier for a rim-running center. On one level, it is the criticism of Ayton. On the other hand, it is a measure of desperation. With Reaves out and Doncic sidelined, the Lakers need dependable offense from remaining regulars, and Ayton is not a side piece in that scenario. He becomes part of the survival plan. When the coach says the team has run plays for him, he is describing an attempt to replace lost production by leaning on the pieces still standing. The recent schedule shows how fragile the Lakers’ footing has become. Oklahoma City handled Los Angeles again on Tuesday, their second win over the Lakers within five days, while the Lakers absorbed a third straight loss. What had recently been a strong stretch; they had won 13 of 14 before the injuries hit, has quickly become a race to stabilize. This is not merely about one player fumbling pocket passes or failing to secure entry feeds. It is about whether the Lakers can trust their offensive ecosystem once its stars are removed. Championship hopefuls often discover their weak points only when the margin disappears. For the Lakers, Ayton’s hands, timing, and reliability have become one of those weak points at exactly the wrong time.

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