JJ Redick‘s Los Angeles Lakers suffered a crushing 121-94 loss in a preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night. With another loss in the books, the Lakers’ preseason record comes up to 1-4, raising concerns about the team’s performance thus far.
While speaking with the media during his postgame availability, JJ Redick shed light on several aspects of the game.
Reporter: “Starting with the first half, what did you see, not just from Gabe [Vincent], but kind of the whole unit, and how did they carry that through up until halftime, when you were playing a lot of the veterans?”
Redick: “I thought we ran really well. Jaxson [Hayes] did a great job of putting pressure on the rim. Vando, he had, I think, six defensive rebounds in that first half. Every time he got it and pushed it, it created a level of pace … That’s how we were able to score against them at a really high level in that first half. For a majority of the game, I thought we did a good job of forcing them into the shots that we want to give up. They shot a lot of midrange shots for much of the game.”
Reporter: “In the second half, I’m sure there were some expected struggles when you’re going to play that part of the roster against Dallas, playing more of their second unit and third unit. But what would you have liked to have seen be a little crisper in that period?… End of the third, mostly the fourth?”
Redick: “A level of toughness, but that wasn’t there tonight. It’s a lot to ask that group that was out there for the fourth to generate good shots. That’s just the reality. Now, who those guys are right now, that’s not an excuse for a lack of toughness, a lack of just on-court, ‘Hey, let’s figure this out, play a little harder.'”
After a terrific start, the Lakers faded in the second half of the game. While giving up a total of 68 points in the half, to add to the misery, Los Angeles struggled to get its offense going again, as they only put up 28 points.
Although Gabe Vincent stood out for his terrific 22-point outburst, he and Rui Hachimura, who had 19 points on the night, were the only impressive elements on the team’s roster.
The Lakers’ second-half woes are becoming a bit of a trend, considering that they suffered a similar fate in their previous game against the Phoenix Suns. Given that this could turn into a bad habit for the team, JJ Redick will hope to address this matter quickly before the start of the regular season.
JJ Redick Outlines The Plan For Preseason Finale
Barring the scathing review of his team’s performance in the second half, JJ Redick was also asked about his plans for the preseason finale against the Sacramento Kings. When asked about the roster heading into the game and the minutes distribution, he responded:
“Plans change, but Luka’s minutes will go up from last night, similar to how Jay [Jason Kidd] did his minutes tonight with his rotation. We’ll get those guys some normal rotation runs through early parts of the fourth.”
By virtue of Wednesday night’s game being on the second night of a back-to-back, the Lakers had benched many of their key starters, primarily to preserve them for the preseason finale. With this in mind, JJ Redick assured that the team would be approaching the last game as a rehearsal for the regular season.
With players such as Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves expected to play more minutes, the Lakers will look to ride on the momentum of their two stars to secure a win against the Kings.
As the lineup effectively resembles their roster for the first month of the regular season, especially as LeBron James recovers, Los Angeles will hope that the team can develop chemistry soon.
