The Los Angeles Lakers have returned to the rough patch that many believed would be forgotten when the 2024-25 NBA season started. The Lakers’ recent performance, especially on the defensive end, has gotten them in trouble as they’ve fallen to a 12-10 record in the Western Conference standings.
Los Angeles has lost two games in a row, Monday’s 109-80 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves and a134-93 loss on Wednesday against the Miami Heat. On Friday, they seek to bounce back against the Atlanta Hawks and add a win to their record.
However, the Los Angeles Lakers’ performance has suffered because of their inconsistent defensive play. Head coach JJ Redick discussed with reporters how he emphasizes the value of defensive communication during the game against the Heat. Redick stated they would be benched if they did not communicate with the defensive team.
“You take them out of the game,” Redick said on when players don’t communicate on defense.
JJ Redick on how to handle players not communicating defensively: “You take them out of the game.”
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) December 6, 2024
When his players make defensive mistakes on the court, Redick isn’t hesitant to call them out. In a 131-114 defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on November 6, the head coach benched starting point guard D’Angelo Russell following a defensive play in which he helped the opposition make a basket. Russell has been a member of the Lakers’ second unit ever since.
Star players aren’t exempt as Redick dared to call out LeBron James for his defensive inconsistency during one play. During the Los Angeles Lakers’ 128-123 win against the Grizzlies, the head coach talked to James and rookie guard Dalton Knecht about their failed coverage before the first quarter ended.
The Los Angeles Lakers need more time to practice, according to head coach
The Los Angeles Lakers have suffered six defeats out of their last eight games. Most of it has to do with their defensive inconsistency. This season, the team is 27th in defensive rating with 117.7. The Lakers are also 24th in steals (7.5 spg) and 25th in blocks (4.4 bpg).
Redick says he thinks the club needs more practice time to work out their problems, particularly defensively.
“It’s funny because it felt like earlier in the year we were having trouble at the point of attack, and we’ve actually been better there,” Redick said. “We we’re having a lot of trouble with our transition defense, I think overall we’ve been better there. We’re like having trouble right now on both ends with like base level gameplan stuff. It’s odd. It’s very odd. And I don’t know if that’s the travel and lack of practice time. But yeah, to like really not execute, not an adjustment, but going into the game with our base level coverage and that’s not a 1-5 or anything special we’re doing, but you can’t really make adjustments if you can’t execute the base level coverage. The answer to that probably is next week. It’s an opportunity for us to be in the gym and get some practice time with us not making the Cup. So we’ll do that.”
JJ Redick thinks the #Lakers will benefit from the time they will get on the practice court next week.https://t.co/mMidvuaCqy
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) December 6, 2024
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
