Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick praised forward Adou Thiero after the 22-year-old’s regular-season debut against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
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Adou Thiero returned to action for the Los Angeles Lakers in their regular-season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night at Crypto.com Arena, and Lakers head coach JJ Redick said the forward was “awesome” once he settled in.
Thiero had missed the first nine games of the season with swelling in his left knee. After solid outings in preseason, he played an impactful seven minutes in his first appearance of the regular season.
Following the win, Redick said he noticed early errors but felt Thiero quickly adjusted. “Yeah, I thought his first two defensive possessions, he made mistakes, and then after that, he was awesome,” Redick said. “He literally did everything we asked him to do.”
Redick highlighted Thiero’s work on the offensive glass and his impact during stretches of the game. “He was great on the offensive glass,” Redick said, adding that Thiero continued to pursue second-chance opportunities even when the Lakers did not immediately secure possession.
In his first action of the season, Thiero finished with four points, two assists and four rebounds, with his rebounds all coming on the offensive end.
Redick also pointed to Thiero’s role execution on the offensive end, saying Thiero made reads out of the short role and that the results included “the lobs.” He added that defensively Thiero was “really good in the second half.”
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