The Lakers trailed the Suns by 10 at halftime Tuesday night. When asked what happened that turned a game where they were in striking distance into a blowout Phoenix win, JJ Redick was blunt.
“They scored on the first 13 possessions of the second half,” the Lakers coach said of the Suns.
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The Lakers went on to lose consecutive games for the first time this season, getting blown out by the Suns 132-108. Los Angeles was without Luka Doncic, but the Lakers have a respectable 116.2 offensive rating when Doncic is off the court this season (which would rank 11th in the league overall). What Redick called out is the Lakers’ defense — which is bottom 10 in the league whether Doncic is on the court or not — and particularly the effort on that end of the floor.
“The theme with our team, these young teams that move, we just can’t move. It’s like we’re stuck in mud,” Redick said.
When asked if the Lakers had enough players who are inherently good defenders and give a full effort on that end, Redick was blunt.
“No.”
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He laid the blame for the defensive effort at the players’ feet.
“It comes down to just making the choice. It’s making the choice,” Redick said. “There are shortcuts you can take or you can do the hard thing and you can make the second effort or you can sprint back or you can’t. It’s just a choice. And there’s a million choices in a game, and you’re very likely not going to make every choice correctly. But can you make the vast majority of them correctly? It gives you a chance to win.”
The Lakers are 19-9 on the season and still sit fourth in the West with the league’s seventh-ranked offense. However, just how good this team can be — and what kind of playoff run they can make — is capped by a defense that is 24th in the league for the season and has gotten worse (28th in the league in the last 10 games).
Los Angeles’ defense will be tested by another young team that can move on Christmas Day when the Lakers host the Rockets. It’s a game in the national spotlight because of LeBron James and Kevin Durant, but the winner will come down to which team can defend (the Rockets have struggled on that end of late).
