The joy in Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room is gone after they just suffered a second straight loss, both by double digits, the latest one against Phoenix Suns they beat just last week. Head coach JJ Redick bemoans the lack of commitment from his players as he thought they were all on board during practices and film viewings.
Redick is especially critical of the the defensive effort they put in against the Suns. To not commit to it, per Redick, is a choice.
“We practice this stuff enough,” he said.
“We review this stuff enough. We show film on this stuff enough that to me, it like comes down to … just making the choice. It’s making the choice.”
The game started slipping from Lakers hands’ in the third quarter when they allowed the opponents to score 38 points. Came the third quarter and they did not have a sense of urgency as the Suns scored 45 points against their 22.
From there, their hosts had total control of the game. Dillon Brooks topscored for Phoenix while Lebron James led the Lakers in losing effort. They also did not have Luka Doncic in the game.
Marcus Smart agrees with JJ Redick
Marcus Smart is the Lakers’ go-to guy when it comes to defense. He is not making excuses for their performance as a team.
“We doing s—. We’re being real s—ty right now, and it’s showing,” he said.
“Every team goes through it trying to figure it out. You just pray that it happens early and we can fix it before it’s too late. But yeah, there’s really no defense, no scheme we can do when we’re giving up offensive rebounds in crucial moments like we are, or guys are getting wherever they want on the court.”
Q: JJ Redick said there are a lot of hard decisions a player needs to make within a game, whether it’s making second-effort plays, making defensive rotations, etc. How do you feel the team is doing with those decisions?
Marcus Smart: “We doing s–t. We’re being real s—-y right…
— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) December 24, 2025
He also spared Redick from criticisms saying the coach has prepared them and the shortcoming is from the players.
“So, it’s tough. And JJ is right. There’s really nothing he can do. It’s on us.”
Lakers will have one day to figure things out before taking on the Christmas game against Houston Rockets who like them are in some sort of desperation after losing a second straight game and bowing to the five worst team in the Western Conference this month.
Doncic’s availability for giant match up is yet to be confirmed.
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