J Redick, reflecting on his team’s 122-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, offered candid insights into what makes Cleveland such a formidable opponent. Redick emphasized that to beat the Cavaliers, teams must play near-perfect basketball. Their combination of elite shot-making, defensive discipline, and relentless effort makes them one of the NBA’s toughest challenges.
During his post-game press conference, JJ Redick highlighted the quality of the Cavaliers’ execution, particularly their ability to generate and convert high-quality three-point shots.
“They have some really good shot makers on their team and overall our defense in terms of execution, physicality, intensity was good. You think about some of those threes they made and some of the threes we missed. They were obviously able to generate 11 more, but it’s really the difference in the game.”
“If you’re going to have that level of disparity from the three-point line, the only way to really counteract that is to get a really high amount of free throw attempts and them have no free throw attempts and we didn’t get that tonight. Thought we generated good looks and they didn’t go down.”
The Cavaliers’ ability to hit timely shots proved decisive, particularly during pivotal stretches of the game. Redick acknowledged these moments as game-changers.
“Yeah, I mean I would point to two segments there. Strus, you know, hitting those 3 threes in a row. And again, that segment prior was really up and down. And we were able to get it to two. And they called timeout.”
“Then he hit three. Garland hits one. We were able to get it back to a one-point game at 79-78. And then Niang gets an offensive rebound, and they bang another three. And then we just weren’t able to get any closer to that than that.”
“I thought our guys had really good spirit and continued to compete and gave ourselves a chance to be right there at the end.”
“You know, we didn’t get a stop coming out of the timeout and it was 114-107, but Austin had a great look after timeout play, I live with that, it was wide open top of the key and he’s having a night so could have cut it to four right there, we certainly had our chances and really believe this against teams as good as Cleveland you have to play close to perfect basketball.”
“They’re not going to let you beat them. They’re not going to beat themselves. They really believe in what they’re doing. And, you know, you look at some of the numbers there. Mitchell hit some threes, but Mitchell, Garland, didn’t have great shooting nights. Just were really bad with our veers and we were really bad with our low man Allen and Mobley there at the rum, really hurt us as well besides the threes.”
The Lakers recently added Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to their roster, and Redick noted the challenges of integrating new players into the system.
“Yeah, really just trying to simplify it just partially because the you know going small with those groups when Shake was out there, they’re really just trying to play middle of the floor two-man action trying to get behind the defense, space the floor behind and I thought that would give us an opportunity to generate some threes.”
“But you know, so in terms of like organization level, like it’s very simple. It wasn’t anything that we wanted to overcomplicate. And again, like I told you guys before the game Jaxson’s going to play.”
“It’s just tonight was we thought that would be an opportunity when they had one big on the floor to just create some space and try to get some threes up.”
Redick praised the Cavaliers’ cohesive approach, noting their ability to execute early and late actions in the shot clock.
“Yeah, I mean, again, I thought we defended early actions well. They’re always going to get to second, third actions. There’s always going to be some misdirections on and off ball.”
“You know, I’ll watch the film, but I think overall, just in terms of defending them in the half court outside of a couple plays, where we gave up maybe a three and several plays where our veers and low man weren’t good.”
“Overall it was what we were trying to do. Just too much at the rim”
Redick also addressed the shift in the Lakers’ offensive dynamic with Austin Reaves taking on a central role as the primary ball-handler, and he nearly recorded a triple-double with 35 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds.
“Probably the turnovers to be honest with you. I told the guys in the first half and really those early turnovers, it wasn’t just him. We had I think five in the first 5 or 6 minutes of the game. It just gives them gives them life.”
“They score off of them, gives them life on the second night of the back-to-back, that gives him life on the road. Maybe this is a new thing. You know, particularly with the way he’s played the last three games, you know, I think the patience to just make simple plays, something that we will talk to him briefly about during the game, but something that will hammer home with him.”
“He’s going to get a lot of opportunities to play on and off ball with actions both ways. There is a nature to his game that you have to be willing to live with some of this stuff because of the way he attacks and the change of pace and the quick decisions and the quick bursts. There’s gonna be some of that and you have to live with that. It’s sort of the unforced stuff that. We will grow.”
While Redick believes his team is “right there” in terms of competing with the league’s elite, the game against Cleveland highlighted the gap between the Lakers and true contenders.
“I think we’re right there. I think we’re right there”
The Cavaliers improved to a league-best 29-4, while the Lakers fell to 18-14, dropping to seventh in the Western Conference. Despite a valiant effort from Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis, the Lakers couldn’t overcome the Cavaliers’ depth, defensive intensity, and efficient shooting.
The Cavaliers were led by Jarrett Allen, who dominated inside with 27 points on 12-of-14 shooting, 14 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Donovan Mitchell contributed 26 points despite a tough shooting night, while Evan Mobley added 20 points and six rebounds. Darius Garland, despite an off-night scoring, orchestrated the offense beautifully with 14 assists, showcasing his ability to find open shooters and keep the Lakers’ defense off-balance.
Anthony Davis also had a strong performance, contributing 28 points, 13 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. LeBron James, fresh off celebrating his 40th birthday, added 23 points and 7 assists but struggled to make a significant impact late in the game.
For the Lakers to ascend to championship contention, they must not only improve their shooting but also find ways to neutralize teams like Cleveland that thrive on discipline and execution. Redick’s assessment underscores the need for near-flawless play to beat a team that epitomizes consistency and efficiency.
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