Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick offered a blunt assessment Monday night after his team’s 124-112 loss to the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.
Redick repeatedly returned to shooting variance and shot conversion as the defining factors in the defeat.
“No, it’s literally we can’t make a shot,” Redick said. “They’re right there with us as being one of the worst shooting teams in the league.”
The Kings shot 65 percent from three-point range, the highest or tied for the highest opponent mark the Lakers have allowed all season.
“That’s the highest or tied for the highest with Houston for the highest anybody’s shot all season,” Redick said. “We’re 28th before tonight in opponent three-point percentage. We’ll be 29th or 30th after tonight.”
Despite the final score, Redick pointed to process-based metrics that suggested the Lakers generated quality offense.
“We had 50 potential assists tonight. We converted on 21 of those,” he said. “Expected score, we won by 24. This has been the theme.”
Redick emphasized that the shot quality itself did not concern him, even as Los Angeles finished 8-for-36 from three.
“If you’re to have a wide open shot, you have to take a wide open shot,” Redick said. “Just got to keep shooting, I guess.”
When asked about perimeter defense, Redick pushed back on the idea that the Lakers’ overall defensive performance has slipped.
“We’ve been, I don’t know if it’s the last seven going into tonight, one of the top defenses in the league,” he said. “We faced a hot shooting team tonight.”
Sacramento scored 40 of its 61 first-half points in early offense, something Redick tied directly to missed shots and long rebounds.
“When you’re missing shots and those long rebounds, you’re naturally not going to be able to get your defense set,” he said. “Forty of their 61 points were in early offense.”
The Lakers briefly cut the deficit to seven in the fourth quarter, but Redick dismissed the idea that the game was within reach late.
“We were down 16 with a minute and 40 seconds to go,” he said. “Couldn’t make a shot and they’re making everything. We weren’t going to win that game.”
Redick also explained the strategic dilemma of guarding DeMar DeRozan, who scored 32 points.
“When you’re up eight in the fourth quarter and DeRozan’s making twos, you’re going to live with that,” he said. “When you’re down 10 and he’s making twos, you’ve got to put two on the ball.”
That decision opened space for Malik Monk and Russell Westbrook, who combined for 48 points.
Redick also addressed rotation decisions, including why Rui Hachimura did not appear.
“He was only available for one game,” Redick said. “Severe minutes restriction. It made sense to play him tomorrow.”
The Lakers will look to reset Tuesday at home against Atlanta, while Sacramento hosts New York on Wednesday.
