After being in a commanding position early in the first round, JJ Redick and the Los Angeles Lakers now find themselves in a tough spot. After suffering a 99-93 loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 5, the Purple and Gold are being backed into a corner, and things are not looking as promising.
Wednesday night’s game in Los Angeles saw a considerably better outing by the home team compared to their performance in Game 4. Despite this, JJ Redick noted that several things went wrong for the Lakers during his postgame interview.
While acknowledging L.A.’s strong performance in the first quarter, he began by noting the issues in the second, stating:
“Again, another period in the second quarter where we just turned the ball over. Certainly had some long stretches where we didn’t have successive turnovers, but that was part of it. A little bit of game plan, KYP, and defensive mistakes from us there in that second quarter.”
“You’ve got to give them a lot of credit. They made shots tonight, including some guys who don’t normally make threes. Our defense, you hope that 99 is enough to win, and we just couldn’t make shots.”
JJ Redick highlighted that the Lakers’ struggles in scoring on multiple possessions caught up to them eventually. Still, he maintained a positive outlook, as he concluded:
“We’ll take a look at the whole process, take a look at the substitution patterns, and figure out where we can be better in Game 6.”
Although Redick began by highlighting the Lakers’ defensive shortcomings, as he correctly stated, it was L.A.’s offense that failed them on Wednesday night.
Despite Austin Reaves’ long-awaited return to the rotation, the Purple and Gold looked dazed. Having shot 32-76 (~42%) from the field and an abysmal 7-27 (~26%) from three-point range, the fact that the Lakers even managed to keep the deficit below 10 points is a miracle.
In this regard, limiting the Rockets’ scoring to below 100 points can be considered a success, especially when noting that their entire starting lineup scored in double figures. Still, given that the Lakers’ star duo of LeBron James (25 PTS, 3 REB, 7 AST) and Austin Reaves (22 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST) combined for 47 points, with Deandre Ayton adding a remarkable 18 points and 17 rebounds to the effort, expecting more from the bench seems justified.
It goes without saying that the overall situation does not suit the Lakers. With the Rockets stealing back all the momentum they lost early in the series, they will be heading into Game 6 with sufficient confidence to turn things around.
The next game will be a critical one for the Purple and Gold, as it could dictate the outcome of the series, too. With the burden of closing things out weighing heavily on the Lakers’ coaching staff, JJ Redick must find a way to inspire confidence within the unit to make one last push.
