It seems from what I've read that my award flight from DPS (Bali) to LAX with Cathay should technically through check-in any baggage to my (separate) flight from LAX to ORD with AA.

Is there anything I can do to make this a smoother process ahead of time? The flight with Cathay lands at 10:30pm at LAX and the flight to Chicago leaves at 11:50pm which seems too short of a layover (especially if the bags aren't checked through) so I was leaning against it but wanted to see if anyone could give some insight here. Is there a way to call ahead and have Cathay link the PNRs?

What happens if the arriving Cathay flight is delayed and I miss the AA flight? Will I be able to pick up the baggage from LAX as normal?