Collin Sexton and Sandro Mamukelashvili gave the Lakers 41 points in Atlanta on Monday. I care more about the other combination in their box-score lines: nine assists, one turnover, per Basketball Reference. That is the part I want JJ Redick to keep asking for when the jumpers stop dropping like warmup shots.
The Lakers won 124-114, their sixth straight victory, and reached 10-2, as Thuc Nhi Nguyen detailed in the Los Angeles Times. As of Tuesday, Nov. 10, my takeaway is that Sexton and Mamukelashvili should share responsibility for creating the next good shot. Making the reserve guard responsible for every decision while the reserve big waits for a pass wastes a useful partnership. Give both men something to do after the first action gets defended.
Keep the Passing, Budget for Fewer Makes
Basketball Reference’s Atlanta box score lists Sexton with 18 points, six assists and one turnover. Mamukelashvili added 23 points, three assists and no turnovers. Between them, they made eight of 12 three-point attempts. The shooting deserves applause. It would make a terrible budget for the next game.
I would build the next assignment around the decisions. Sexton should initiate possessions, get a defender moving and look for the roll before deciding that the only remaining option is his own shot. Mamukelashvili should be available to receive the ball outside, then shoot, drive or move it promptly. The defense should have to finish guarding the possession after it survives Sexton’s first attack.
There was a concrete example of the first part in Atlanta. Thuc Nhi Nguyen’s game report for the Los Angeles Times describes Sexton feeding Walker Kessler on second-quarter lobs. That is a useful reminder of what another ballhandler can provide. A center’s scoring opportunities do not have to disappear when the ball leaves Luka Doncic’s hands.
I want the Lakers to preserve that threat while adding a clear next read. If the low defender takes away Kessler, find Mamukelashvili outside. If the pass sends a defender running toward him, let Mamukelashvili make the next decision. I would call that sequence again even after a missed jumper, provided the pass arrived on time and the shot was open. The appeal is that the ball can reach a second decision-maker without returning to the original ballhandler.
We have already argued for Sexton to lead the bench offense. Atlanta gives that argument a more specific instruction. Lead it by making the first advantage available to somebody else. A guard can run an offense without personally finishing every difficult possession it produces.
The same applies to Mamukelashvili’s fit beside Kessler. My interest here goes beyond which position Mamukelashvili occupies. Wherever he enters the action, I want him handling a live decision. A catch followed by a useful pass can keep the defense moving even when the catch does not produce a shot.
That is also why I would resist treating Monday as permission to chase harder threes. Reward the willingness to take the available shot. Do not reward a habit of manufacturing the same shot after the opening has closed. The difference will matter on a night when the first few attempts hit the rim. A hot box score should earn trust, not a scavenger hunt for more attempts.
Give the Stars Actual Help With the Decisions
There is a limit to how far I would carry the victory lap. Basketball Reference has Doncic at 39 minutes, 23 seconds in Atlanta. Sexton and Mamukelashvili producing does not, by itself, mean the Lakers have made their star’s job light. It means two other players supplied offense in a game that still required a long night from Luka.
The next test should be whether their responsibilities survive a more complete rotation. Nguyen reported that Austin Reaves and Quentin Grimes both missed the Atlanta game. I would keep meaningful touches for Sexton and Mamukelashvili when those guards are back, and build those touches into the regular offense.
That does not require equal touches or a democratic closing possession. I still want the ball with the player best equipped to punish the matchup. It requires a plan for the moment the defense forces that player to give it up. The recipient should know whether the next opportunity is a roll, a shot or a pass across the floor before the ball reaches his hands.
My preferred practice emphasis would be simple: run the possession beyond the first successful pass. Let Sexton start it, let Mamukelashvili touch it, and make the group finish an action on the other side. Then reverse their entry points. Have Mamukelashvili receive first while Sexton moves into the next attack. Teach both players to recognize the same opening from different places. I would put a particular premium on the pass that arrives before the help defender settles. Waiting until a teammate looks completely uncovered can turn a useful opening into a contested catch. Let the next player attack a moving defense instead of asking him to start over.
I would also avoid interpreting their combined assist-to-turnover line as a permanent expectation. An assist needs a teammate to make the shot. A turnover can come from a good idea delivered badly. Grade the attempt to create an advantage alongside the result. If the next game brings fewer assists because open attempts miss, that alone should not send the ball back into storage with Doncic.
The defensive assignment still has to work. I would not keep a group together merely to admire its passing if the opponent repeatedly gets the matchup it wants. Change the personnel around the partnership, or shorten the stint. The point is to give the offense a repeatable set of responsibilities, with enough room for Redick to respond to the actual game.
Nor would I call this proof that every minute without Doncic is fixed. Our earlier look at the minutes the Lakers lost while Luka sat against Portland identified a separate scoreboard problem. Individual full-game totals cannot tell us how a particular reserve group performed together. That needs its own accounting, possession by possession, with the players on the floor identified.
What Monday earns is a more demanding assignment. Sexton should create the first opening. Mamukelashvili should help turn that opening into the next one. When the shooting cools, keep giving both of them decisions worth making.