The Los Angeles Lakers opened the 2025–26 season with a 119–109 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night, and head coach JJ Redick did not mince words about what went wrong.
Speaking after the game, Redick pointed to a recurring problem that carried over from last season. “The trend I see is that we continue to be a terrible third quarter team to start,” he said. “That was last year, that was the preseason. Got to rethink some things.”
Golden State’s 19–4 run early in the second half swung the momentum after a tight opening two quarters. The Lakers, despite Luka Doncic’s 43-point effort, couldn’t recover from the deficit.
Redick emphasized that the third-quarter struggles reflected more of an internal issue than the opponent’s adjustments. “They’re not ready to play to start the third quarter,” he said of his players, adding that both the coaching staff and roster share responsibility for solving the problem.
Asked about the team’s discipline, Redick maintained that overall execution wasn’t the major issue. “Pretty good, actually,” he said. “Outside of a few buckets there in the third quarter, pretty good.”
The Lakers shot 54.5 percent from the field but just 25 percent from beyond the arc and 60.7 percent from the free-throw line. Turnovers and missed defensive rotations cost them key possessions, something Redick labeled “self-inflicted.”
“If you look at this game as a microcosm, we did enough good things to put ourselves in a position to win,” Redick said. “When we didn’t, they were self-inflicted. That’s not anything Golden State did to us.”
LeBron James’ absence loomed large as the Lakers adjusted to life without the 40-year-old forward, sidelined with sciatica. Redick admitted that there were moments when his absence was felt. “I’ll be honest with you, I did have one moment in that first half when we had a few possessions we couldn’t score against the zone,” he said. “I think it’d be great to have LeBron just to throw it to the high post.”
Redick, now in his second season as head coach, credited Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Gabe Vincent for taking on more vocal leadership roles on defense in James’ absence.
Despite the loss, the Lakers found positives in Austin Reaves’ 26 points and Ayton’s solid debut. However, Redick made clear that improved organization and communication will be the team’s focus moving forward.
Los Angeles (0–1) will look to bounce back Thursday when it hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the Warriors (1–0) return to Chase Center to face the Denver Nuggets.
