The Los Angeles Lakers’ woes continued on Wednesday night as they suffered a demoralizing 131-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, dropping their record to 4-4 on the season. While LeBron James put forth a valiant effort, scoring a season-high 39 points, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was far from pleased with the rest of the team’s performance.
Redick Praises LeBron, Rips Team’s Effort
In his postgame remarks, Redick made it clear that James was the only Laker who came to play. “LeBron was fantastic tonight,” Redick said. “Biggest thing that stood out… He played hard. Almost 40 years old and played the hardest on our team. It says a lot about him.”
The first-year coach then proceeded to call out the rest of the roster for their perceived lack of effort. When asked how he would address this issue, Redick simply stated, “I just did,” before abruptly ending the press conference.
D’Angelo Russell’s Reduced Role
One notable casualty of Redick’s dissatisfaction was point guard D’Angelo Russell, who saw his playing time slashed to a season-low 22 minutes. Redick explained that the decision was based on Russell’s “level of compete, attention to detail, some of the things we’ve talked with him about for a couple of weeks.”
At times he’s been really good with that stuff. And other times, it’s just reverting back to certain habits. But it wasn’t like a punishment. It just felt for us to have a chance to win this game, that was the route we wanted to take.
JJ Redick on limiting D’Angelo Russell’s minutes
Grizzlies Add Insult to Injury
As if the loss wasn’t enough, the Grizzlies added some salt to the wound during a postgame interview with rookie Scotty Pippen Jr. Teammate Desmond Bane crashed the interview, grabbing Pippen by the shoulders and praising him for stealing the ball from “that old man over there,” a clear reference to the 37-year-old James.
Defensive Woes Continue
The Lakers’ defensive struggles were on full display once again, as they allowed the Grizzlies to shoot 50% from the field and knock down 17 three-pointers. This performance dropped Los Angeles to 28th in the league in defensive efficiency, surrendering a whopping 118.8 points per 100 possessions.
We got to compete and we got to defend. We gave up 50% shooting and they shot the 3 ball well. They got into the paint. They got offensive rebounds. They got second-chance points. And they had some transition points as well.
LeBron James on the Lakers’ defensive lapses
A Disappointing Road Trip
The loss in Memphis capped off a frustrating five-game road trip for the Lakers, who went just 1-4 during the stretch. With Anthony Davis sidelined due to a left heel contusion and Rui Hachimura out with an illness, the team struggled to find consistent production outside of James.
As the Lakers return home to lick their wounds, Redick will undoubtedly be looking for ways to light a fire under his underperforming squad. Whether that means more lineup changes, intense practices, or frank conversations behind closed doors, one thing is clear: the status quo is not working for this talented but flawed roster.
The Road Ahead
With the season still young, there’s plenty of time for the Lakers to turn things around. However, if they hope to compete for a championship, they’ll need to address their glaring issues on both ends of the court and find a way to match James’ intensity night in and night out.
For now, Redick and his staff will have to go back to the drawing board, searching for the right combination of players and strategies to unlock this team’s potential. The talent is there, but until the effort and execution catch up, the Lakers may find themselves stuck in a frustrating cycle of inconsistency and underachievement.
