JJ Redick laid it bare on Christmas night. There was nothing merry about the way the Lakers were playing. His fiery admission sparked some concern. Would he lose LeBron James and Luka Doncic? Draymond Green feels they share his frustrations. And with that, the Warriors veteran also gave a warning.
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During those three losses, Redick didn’t spare any criticism when evaluating his team. But Green feels that the message hasn’t got through to his players.
“The thing that he keeps saying is the same. We need to play better on the defensive end. We need to get back in transition. We need to guard our men. It’s the same thing. So, it’s not like he’s ranting about these different things,” he said on the Draymond Green Show.
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Those concerns hid beneath the surface when the Lakers were winning. But the three-game skid really highlighted how dependent the Lakers are on their offensive juggernauts. That’s the reason JJ Redick reached the boiling point. The Lakers lost rebounding battles and generated just 19 assists during their losing streak. Each time, Redick tore his team apart.
As this was happening, even players admitted something wasn’t right. Jake LaRavia said there was a divide. That came with a huge risk for the coaching staff.
“Oftentimes, for coaches that I’ve seen that call their team out more often than not, they usually lose their locker room. They usually lose the team,” Green added. If not addressed well, that could have happened with the Lakers. Luckily, with the personalities they have, the team understood what the head coach was asking for.
The Lakers take a step in the right direction
Sunday’s win against the Sacramento Kings offered relief to the Laker Nation. Even though it came against one of the worst teams in the league this season, it was a performance fans were waiting for. Defensively, the team was active, generating a season-high 14 steals and scoring over 120 points. It was the first time since their win against the Utah Jazz that had happened.
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Dec 15, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick at a press conference at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Green noticed the Lakers were running back. The Kings only scored 11 fast-break points; seemingly, the team understood where they had to improve. After a while, JJ Redick also had something positive to say.
“We had probably one of our most consistent games in terms of 48 minutes of competitive spirit… We really just want five guys at all times, on every possession, engaged. That’s sort of the North Star of how we try to build a good defense,” Redick noted about the improvements.
It took some time, but the message got through. The Lakers responded to their “uncomfortable” practice with resilience. There are still areas to improve. The Purple and Gold had 15 turnovers against 25 assists. That synergy still needs some work. However, the Lakers clearly came out with the intention of taking control of their situation. For now, it’s what the team needed: to come on the same page and execute.
For now, it’s the exact tangent to take on.
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Ved Vaze