Luke Kennard Opens Up on Stepping Up During Lakers Injury Crisis

The Los Angeles Lakers lost Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to injuries within 48 hours of each other, and suddenly, a guy known mostly for shooting threes was running the offense. That kind of shift does not go unnoticed.

Per @SpectrumSN on X, Luke Kennard spoke with the media after the Lakers' 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, a game where he finished with 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and 11 assists. The first triple-double of his nine-year career, and it came on a night the Lakers needed everything from everyone.

Kennard came to Los Angeles from the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline. His role was simple: space the floor, knock down threes, stay out of the way of the stars. Playing 41 minutes as the primary ball-handler was a completely different ask.

Missing those two guys is a big change out there, and guys needed to step up. For me, I knew kind of some of the stints I would run, that I play on the ball, off the ball, kind of a mixture of both. We had some really good things we did offensively. We scored some points, but it's going to be defense for us, and that's what we have to hang our hat on going forward.
Luke Kennard

Luke Kennard (15 PTS, 16 REB, 11 AST) speaks with the media following the 134-128 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. pic.twitter.com/7XCrfbnNEa
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) April 6, 2026

Luke Kennard on Running the Offense Without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves

The ball-handling load was something Kennard had not taken on at all this season. 41 minutes, primary initiator, a roster missing its two leading scorers. He was honest about what that felt like.

It's something I haven't really done, especially this year, being that involved and having the ball in my hands that much. It's something I've done before, I'm comfortable with. I got to be better with it. I took some tough shots, but the shots are gonna fall. It's just getting everybody connected, being organized out there, and being confident with it.
Luke Kennard

Down 22 before halftime, the Lakers fought back to within five. For a team that just lost two stars in two days, that said something. Kennard felt it too.

Yeah, it was great to see. We ran some lineups that they haven't seen all year and when we were down, we stayed together. That's something we've been doing, especially when we had that really good stretch. We still got that guy out there with us to lead us and be the voice we need.
Luke Kennard

There was also the question of what it costs him as a shooter. Kennard built his career off the ball, punishing defenses from three. Handling changes that. He was not bothered by it.

At the same time, I still need to be aggressive and look for my shot. Efficiency, percentages, all that, that's not even a thing for me. It's being aggressive, looking for the right play down the floor every single time, trying to get our team the best look that we can get. I haven't really been in this position much the last however many years, but I'm looking forward to being better at it and getting better with it.
Luke Kennard

JJ Redick on What Kennard Did as the Primary Ball-Handler

Head coach JJ Redick, via @LakersNation on X, broke down what he saw from Kennard and where the Lakers still need to solve things.

We talked a lot about simplifying the initial play call and getting into second actions. I think overall, the guys did a really good job of that. I think we were 22-1 or 23-1 with 29 or more assists, now there's two losses there. But it's an encouraging sign. I think he did a nice job. We gotta figure out what can be the second ball-handler, obviously, 41 minutes is too much for him. Him having to handle as well, that's not a normal thing for him and probably contributed to him not having a great shooting night. But I thought he did some amazing things. I think it was the first triple-double of his career.
JJ Redick

Los Angeles sits at 50-28, holding the third seed in the Western Conference with four regular season games left. Doncic and Reaves are both done for the regular season, and the playoffs begin April 18. Kennard showed he can do more than shoot. Whether that is enough to keep the Lakers afloat until their stars return is what the next two weeks will answer.

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