After the Lakers’ 123-87 loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, JJ Redick said the team fought early but lost control when the Thunder’s perimeter shooting took over. “For basically 18 minutes we fought hard,” he said, before pointing to the turning point: “They hit 21 threes.”
Redick said the Lakers “really tried to protect the paint tonight and put an emphasis on that with our shifts and our low man,” but admitted, “Obviously, we don’t want to give up six to Joe and three to McCain as lasers.” He added, “We didn’t do a good job there,” and called some of the issues “poor closeouts.”
The Lakers’ coach said the effort level was there for parts of the game, but the roster shortage has changed the equation. “We’re under man right now,” Redick said, adding that “it’s important that everybody is trying to play the right way and play for the team.”
Redick also addressed the heated exchange with Jarred Vanderbilt early in the second quarter, saying it was “a confluence of things” and “nothing personal with him.” He explained, “I called a timeout to get him out of the game,” and added, “I think for all of us, being undermanned, we’ve got to scrap and claw.”
When asked what Vanderbilt was not doing in the shift, Redick did not single out one issue. “It was a confluence of things,” he repeated, making clear the decision was tied to the flow of the game rather than one isolated mistake.
The coach then turned to the larger challenge facing Los Angeles over the final three games. “We’ve got to find nine guys that are all in on us fighting,” he said, “and willing to go out on whatever metaphor you want to use.”
Redick said his own routine has not changed even as the Lakers slide without Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart and Jaxson Hayes. “My preparation doesn’t change,” he said. “My messaging changes throughout the season, but it’s trying to get the team to the right point to go compete, play a basketball game, and make the adjustments that we need to make.”
He also pointed to individual bright spots, including Drew Timme’s start and the minutes from Jake LaRavia and Dalton Knecht. “Drew to start the game was great,” Redick said, while also noting of one young player, “The biggest thing for him has got to be playing hard.”
On the state of the roster, Redick kept coming back to the same theme: “It’s my job to make sure” the group stays aligned. “It’s a great opportunity for us over the next three games to find those guys,” he said.
The Lakers will try to regroup Thursday against Golden State, while the Thunder move on to face the Clippers.
