Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick was not shy about benching his starting point guard D’Angelo Russell in their 131-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. The rookie coach saw that Russell wasn’t engaged on either end of the court and he didn’t tolerate the point guard’s apparent lack of effort.
Russell exited with 5:54 left in the third quarter and would not see action the rest of the game. He finished with 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting including 2-for-9 from three-point area as well as three assists. The point guard took ill-considered shots and didn’t defend well in transition, prompting JJ Redick to reduce his time on the court. Russell only played 22 minutes.
The neophyte coach didn’t mince words with sports writer Dan Woike when explaining his reason for taking Russell out of the rest of the game, instead subbing Gabe Vincent in.
“Just a level of [competitiveness], attention to detail, some of the things we’ve talked with him about for a couple of weeks,” Redick said.
“And at times, he’s been really good with that stuff. And other times, it’s just reverting back to certain habits,” he continued.
Redick clarified that Russell’s benching was not a “punishment.” Instead, he felt that putting Vincent in would give the Lakers a better chance to win because of his defense in the first half. The Lakers needed to get defensive stops to get back into the game, and Redick felt Russell just wasn’t the right person for the job.
The absence of Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura hurt the team, especially when the two usually combine for a 46 points-per-game production. LeBron James had to do the hard carrying with 39 points, and if Russell did a better supporting role, then the Lakers may have had a chance to rout the Grizzlies.
Austin Reaves relays JJ Redick’s message after Lakers drop to 1-4
From looking like legitimate contenders, JJ Redick’s Lakers turned into a struggling mid-level team in a span of five games. The team was playing much better and organized at the start, but they drifted away from it too soon, their offensive and defensive structure almost completely disintegrating.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves recalled Redick’s message to the team after their fourth loss in their last five games; it was similar to his reason for benching D’Angelo Russell that night.
“‘We have to be better with basically every aspect of the game, but the main thing is competing,'” Reaves quoted Redick.
“We have to better with basically every aspect of the game, but the main thing is competing” – Austin Reaves on the message postgame from JJ Redick.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) November 7, 2024
They had it going in their first three games of the season. The mounted a comeback from a 22-point deficit against the Phoenix Suns and won their second game under JJ Redick, but that failed to manifest in their later games.
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