Many Los Angeles Lakers fans expected JJ Redick to be angry after the team suffered another devastating last-second loss. The Phoenix Suns defeated the Lakers thanks to Royce O’Neale hitting a clutch game-winning three-pointer with 0.9 seconds left. Redick was visibly upset when the Lakers lost Tuesday’s game in the last seconds to the Orlando Magic thanks to Luka Doncic making a strange pass.
However, tonight’s loss saw Redick giving a more surprising reaction when speaking to the media afterwards:
“We talk about this as a staff like our losses are louder than other teams. Because we’re the Lakers, and because of the way we lose. You get this deep into the season and tonight was a one-possession clutch game, which now we’ve lost a few of those. But we’ve been great for the most part in the clutch all year. Our losses are louder. I would say, we had some adversity, did we not respond?”
Redick didn’t call out his team or come off that angry with the loss compared to some of the other recent games to come down to the wire. The coach believes the Lakers did respond to adversity by rallying back in the fourth quarter before coming up just short.
Lakers Have No Excuse Against Injured Suns
The Lakers did fight at the end of the game to comeback from a double-digit deficit, but the competition they faced immediately removes any moral victory here. Phoenix missed All-Star Devin Booker and this season’s breakout star Dillon Brooks both out with injuries.
The last two games without their top two players saw the Suns averaging just 79 points per game in losing efforts. Phoenix scored 113 points tonight to completely expose the Lakers defense yet again. The same issues continue to haunt the Lakers as the season starts to spiral after a great first couple of months created higher expectations.
DeAndre Ayton was heavily criticized for putting up just 2 points and 4 rebounds in 23 minutes of action. A plus/minus of -24 showed why Lakers fans are getting sick of seeing Ayton on the court. Redick didn’t throw anyone under the bus and tried to keep the energy positive about the future.
Lakers Risking Falling To Play-In Race
Phoenix’s injuries gave Lakers fans some optimism about being able to build a lead to at least keep the sixth seed for a guaranteed playoff spot. However, the three-game losing streak sees them losing their lead against a Suns team missing their best players.
The Lakers just have a one-game lead over the seventh seed, and Phoenix is expected to get Booker back at some point in early March. A bigger gap is starting to form for the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves all above the Lakers.
Redick has had some fiery moments calling out his team this season, but he felt that wasn’t the right call tonight. The defense of his roster sees Redick having faith in them turning it around by focusing on the next game. Wins must start coming for the Lakers, or they will be risking throwing away the entire season.
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