Forget good. The Lakers want to be great.

That was coach JJ Redick’s halftime message Friday night to the Lakers, his frustration with the team’s lack of attention to defensive details boiling over first into a couple of rage-induced timeouts and later into a challenge to his group to be better.

The timing, which came with the Lakers leading a game they’d eventually win 119-102 against Atlanta, indicates something that’s been percolating behind the scenes over the last month, that the Lakers might actually be on to something worth investing in.

Since the team moved Max Christie into the starting lineup on Dec. 8, the Lakers are 8-3. They’re sixth in the NBA in defensive efficiency during that stretch. Over the last seven games, their offense has awoken. And their acquisition of Dorian Finney-Smith, one of the premier role players available on the trade market, not only gives clues to the type of team they’re trying to build, but also cleared a runway for Austin Reaves to try to become the team’s third star.

All of it has sort of uncluttered things for Redick, general manager and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka and the organization. With a month until the NBA trade deadline and a favorable schedule, the next move has people around the league curious about what direction the Lakers will go in the build to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

Instead of frantically hunting for a third star or pushing chips in on a starting-caliber center, the Lakers, rival executives believe, will move in different ways than it might’ve seemed earlier this season.

Christie has given the Lakers the kind of defensive speed and shooting they wanted in their backcourt, playing himself out of any marginal trade conversations. And the Lakers’ resistance to a third maximum-salary contract has only gone up since their failed Russell Westbrook experience, the constraints of the new salary-cap rules making that kind of roster construction more of an albatross than a luxury. (Sorry, Jimmy Butler fans.)

There had been some early-season consensus that the Lakers would be aggressive in their pursuit of a center to either play with Anthony Davis or behind him, but the Finney-Smith acquisition makes that seem unlikely.

Long linked to a player like Washington’s Jonas Valanciunas, a target for the team this summer in free agency, it’s become clear that the Lakers’ needs to get bigger aren’t as important to them as their desires to get faster, more athletic and more dynamic.

While teams have expressed interest in Utah center Walker Kessler — the Lakers included — the belief in NBA circles is that he’s not available in any realistic trade scenarios, Utah electing to keep one of the NBA’s top rim protectors through the deadline.

The team also probably used its most practical trade chip — D’Angelo Russell’s expiring contract — in the Finney-Smith deal.

Multiple rival executives have said that they don’t think the Lakers should invest some of their limited draft capital (and tradeable contracts) for a player who slows them down — and one who, in a playoff series, would have a limited role considering the overwhelming bulk of center minutes will still fall to Davis.

While the Lakers, and Redick has said it, do need more toughness, finding it on the perimeter instead of in the paint seems to be the goal.

Even as the Lakers’ offense has spiked over the last seven games, they’ve done it while still being in the bottom half of the league in three-pointers attempted and made. Targeting shooting and athleticism on the perimeter — particularly in the form of a player who can operate off the ball — is something the Lakers should have their eyes on. Rival scouts and executives who agree with that are always quick to point out that virtually every contending team is trying to add athletic shooters to their roster.

Instead of rushing into a deal for a backup big man, the Lakers do have a real desire to see what their second unit looks like once Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent are on the court together — something that happened just once a season ago.

And Finney-Smith is a tough, switchable, defensive-minded player who can make corner threes at a high volume. He’s very much the kind of player Redick wants to have in his system, and even after three games (and zero real practices), it’s obvious how comfortable Redick is in coaching his former teammate in Dallas.

He challenged him by name after the win over the Hawks, directly holding him to accountability for his first-half defense while going out of his way to praise him for how he recovered in the second half.

There’s also the recent run of play from LeBron James to consider, his week absence at the start of the Lakers’ 8-3 stretch leading to a run of All-NBA-level play from him while passing his 40th birthday last week. If this level is sustainable to some degree, the Lakers’ chances at working themselves into a “great” team go up.

“We’re a ways [from being great] to be honest with you,” Reaves said after the Lakers beat Atlanta. “But everybody’s working in the right direction to becoming that.”

Sunday’s game at Houston will be a real challenge, the Lakers having to conquer what’s become a bad matchup because of the Rockets’ size and athleticism. And Tuesday, against a short-handed Dallas team playing without Luka Doncic, the Lakers’ defense will have to consistently handle the types of details they messed up early on Friday.

After that, the Lakers play their next eight games in Los Angeles — a real chance to cement these last four weeks as more than a blip in their season.

The changes the Lakers have already made to their roster will ultimately dictate the ways they decide to move next — if they move at all.

Jimmy Butler’s wish to be traded from the Miami Heat seems to be placing the six-time All-Star’s teammates in their feelings — something like a ’90s R&B music group.

After Miami’s 128-115 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night — where the small forward scored his second consecutive nine-point game — Butler expressed that he lost his joy of playing basketball in Miami.

“I want to see me getting my joy back playing basketball. Wherever that may be, we’ll find out here pretty soon,” Butler said. “I’m happy here off the court, but I want to be back to somewhat dominant, I want to hoop and I want to help this team win, and right now I’m not doing it.”

Following Butler’s comments about his joy dwindling in a Heat jersey, power forward Kevin Love took his feelings to social media Friday, seemingly foreshadowing Butler’s departure with a recreation of the R&B group Boyz II Men’s 1997 album “Evolution.”

The artwork featured Heat guard Tyler Herro, Love, Butler, and Philadelphia 76ers guard Kyle Lowry, who was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for Terry Rozier and a protected 2027 first-round pick in Jan. 2024.

Love posted a snippet of the Boyz II Men hit song “End of the Road” earlier in the day, but the post was removed due to copyright issues. Love posted on his Instagram story.

Butler has hinted about his exit from Miami. On Christmas Day, it was reported that Butler preferred a trade, with the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors on his preferred destinations. Heat president Pat Riley followed with a statement saying: “We will make it clear — we are not trading Jimmy Butler.”

Team officials also speculated that Butler didn’t play his hardest in Miami’s 119-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday, where he finished with nine points.

The All-Star guard also received a seven-game suspension for multiple instances of conduct detrimental to the team.

Butler is in the final year of his contract with a player option for next season for $52 million. Sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania and Brian Windhorst that teams have been informed that Butler intends to decline his player option for the 2025-26 season and become a free agent in July.

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Collin Morikawa had to judge how his ball would come out of the first cut of rough on the 16th hole at Kapalua, and it was close to perfect, settling 20 inches away for a sure birdie in his terrific duel with Hideki Matsuyama.

Matsuyama was some 20 yards closer. He sent his lob wedge over the pin and used a combination of spin and slope for the shot to roll past Morikawa’s ball and stop 8 inches away.

It was like that all day Saturday at the Sentry.

Matsuyama had a personal best with 11 birdies in his bogey-free round of 62, setting the Plantation course record for 54 holes at 27-under 192.

All that got him was a one-shot lead over Morikawa, who matched his 62 and just about everything else Matsuyama did on another day of virtually no wind and ridiculously low scoring in the PGA Tour opener.

“Collin played well and I just kind of followed him, so good day,” said Matsuyama, a Japanese star of few words and plenty of birdies.

Morikawa played so well at the start that it wasn’t until the sixth hole that he hit a shot he didn’t like, a wedge to 25 feet and a birdie chance that rimmed around the cup. In 54 holes, he has missed only two greens.

“Today was really, really good. Couple shots out there a little squirrely, but for the most part the irons were center face, knew where they were going,” Morikawa said.

He briefly took the lead on the front nine by starting 5 under in five holes, including a 25-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole during a display of sublime shotmaking. Matsuyama caught him on the next hole and they were tight the rest of the way.

The low scoring was reminiscent of 2022, when Cameron Smith set the tournament record — and PGA Tour record to par — at 34-under 258. The conditions were abnormally calm that year, and this year hasn’t been much different.

There was barely any wind on the western edge of Maui, and the Plantation course was built for fierce wind out of any direction. This became target practice for the world’s best players, particularly on a course with the widest fairways on the PGA Tour.

Three years ago, Smith and Jon Rahm were tied for the lead five shots clear of everyone else. Matsuyama was one ahead of Morikawa. Thomas Detry was next at 22-under 197, one ahead of Sungjae Im, who also had a 62.

The average score was 67.49, another record since this tournament moved to Kapalua in 1999.

Detry had a 65 and wound up losing ground.

“I shot 8 under today, but didn’t really feel like I shot 8 under,” he said. “Other courses when you shoot 8 under you really fell like, ‘Oh, yeah, I played unreal golf here.’ I just felt like I played some really steady golf.”

Matsuyama and Morikawa kept piling up birdies and pulling away. What separated them was the reachable par-4 14th, where Matsuyama chipped to 3 feet for birdie and Morikawa drove into a bunker, blasted out to 10 feet and missed the birdie putt.

Such a high level of golf brought importance to every shot, and they were up to the task. Morikawa talked about being in the zone, and with another player at his side in the same place, it created quite the stripe show.

“It was a lot of fun,” Matsuyama said, “but I would like for him to take it easy tomorrow.”

Morikawa has worked on his swing during the offseason, and the bigger work might have been on his attitude. He wants to pour everything into every shot, every day, every tournament and see where it leads.

That makes Sunday a big test.

“You look back at the greats, they did that,” Morikawa said. “You look back at Tiger, he did that every single week. I think if I asked myself, ‘Did I do that the past six years, every time?’ Probably not, you know. But it’s hard. It’s hard to do that, but that’s what I’m going into this year is saying, ‘You know, I’ve got four days, let’s see what I can do.'”

Morikawa has had his chances at Kapalua. He had a six-shot lead two years ago until closing with a 72 and finishing behind Rahm, who had a 63.

He played in the final group three times at big events last year — one behind Scottie Scheffler at the Masters, tied with Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship and four shots behind Scheffler at the Memorial.

Now he’s trying to track down Matsuyama, who is going for his third win in the past 10 months. That goes back to Morikawa’s focus, and it reminded him of when he first turned pro in 2019.

“I had seven opportunities for sponsor exemptions, didn’t know if I was going to get my card or not, and you’re going to put everything out there because you have that goal,” Morikawa said. “Well, I’m going to put everything out there tomorrow because I have the goal to win.”