Quentin Grimes Liked Lakers’ Mindset While Shorthanded

After suffering their first loss of the season, the Los Angeles Lakers had to turn right around and take the court again the next night against the L.A. Clippers. And making it even more of a challenge was the fact that superstar Luka Doncic would sit out the contest due to lower back tightness.

That didn’t stop the Lakers, however, as they dominated their crosstown rivals, walking away with a 16-point victory. Six players scored in double-figures, led by 23 from Quentin Grimes, who got the start in place of Doncic. And he feels the fact that the Lakers got a blowout victory is a testament to how good the rest of this roster is.

“It’s a testament to all the guys,” Grimes said after the game. “Everybody coming in with the right mindset, just coming in, not worried about trying to fill the void of Luka, try to make up 35, 40 points. Everybody came in, did it collectively, it was a testament to the team and just how we kind of collect each other and get the win.”

It took an entire team effort as not only did Doncic sit out, but the Lakers were also without another starter in Ziaire Williams. But it was the defense that led the way as the Lakers held the Clippers to just 87 points on 35% shooting.

“Yeah, I feel like defense is kind of contagious,” Grimes added. “We speed guys up, getting them out of their face and getting turned over, at least the easy buckets. I feel like it’s kind of changed the game, had everybody’s hands up.”

It was a great bounce-back game for the Lakers overall after they were defeated at the hands of the Portland Trail Blazers. But Grimes was proud of the team for moving past that and locking in the next night.

“I mean, easily winnable game last night, but a lot of missed errors on defense gave away so many points,” Grimes noted. “When you have a quick turnaround like this, you kind of flush that one from last night, get out here, come into our mindset and get back on track.”

A lot of teams could have carried the dejection of that first loss into the next game against an inferior team and been caught off guard. But the Lakers didn’t let that happen and they can now look to build back momentum in this early part of the season.

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Another player who has been an important contributor for the Lakers so far this season has been Matisse Thybulle and head coach JJ Redick admitted he’s been ‘pleasantly surprised’ by the wing’s performance.