JJ Redick highlighted the Los Angeles Lakers’ resilience following their 100-92 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday at Toyota Center. “They’re a really good basketball team and they make you either play hard and match their physicality… or you can lay down. And we didn’t lay down tonight,” Redick said.
He emphasized the team’s defensive focus in the second half. “I thought defensively in the second half with some of the adjustments we made at halftime, we just executed really, really well, particularly trying to get the ball out of Durant’s hands. We forced nine turnovers in the fourth quarter doing that and just a terrific defensive second half for us,” he explained.
Redick described the challenge posed by Houston’s five-man lineup without Shepard. “There’s no big. They got five really good defenders out there. It’s really hard to generate good offense. I thought we made the right play consistently,” he noted.
The Lakers’ emphasis on a playoff mindset was another key point. “We got to have a playoff mentality this time of year, and I thought our guys did that and executed it really well,” Redick said, highlighting the team’s 15 second-half turnovers.
On specific defensive strategies, he explained adjustments on Kevin Durant. “We blitzed him a little bit in the first half. We took off the blitz at halftime, we went to our 1-through-5 rotations, and we did a good job of rotating out of that consistently,” he said.
Redick also spoke about the Lakers’ transition game and LeBron James’ impact. “LeBron does such a good job of filling the middle of the floor… He’s one of the best transition players in the NBA, and it’s a dynamic force for our offense,” he remarked.
He acknowledged James’ defensive effort and leadership. “I told him mid-game, ‘I see you. You’re playing hard and that matters. You’re lifting our team up because of how hard you’re playing,’” Redick said.
Redick praised Austin Reaves’ defensive versatility. “He was on Durant to start possessions… had that inbounds steal, a block shot, five assists. He’s a basketball player,” he said.
Regarding the team’s late-game decisions, Redick described Deandre Ayton’s contributions. “We had a decision about who the fifth guy was going to be in that timeout. He hadn’t played much, but he was ready to go and helped us win the game. His offensive rebounding and couple of buckets mattered,” he added.
The Lakers improved to 43-25, moving 1.5 games ahead of Houston for third in the Western Conference, while Redick underscored that disciplined defense and maintaining a playoff mentality were decisive in a tightly contested matchup.
