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JJ Redick Sounds Alarm As Los Angeles Lakers’ Defensive Issues Mount

Jake RogersJake Rogers
Luka Dončić 'Excited' Los Angeles Lakers Gave JJ Redick Extension
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The question wasn’t complicated. The answer was uncomfortable. After the Los Angeles Lakers were overwhelmed defensively in the third quarter of a 132–108 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, head coach JJ Redick was asked whether his team has enough players wired to bring consistent effort and physicality on a nightly basis.

“No,” Redick said.

It was a blunt response, and an honest one — the kind that reflects where the Lakers actually are, not just where the standings say they should be.

The Standings Say One Thing, the Games Say Another

On paper, the Lakers look fine. They’re 19–9 and fourth in the Western Conference. But that record has done a good job of hiding how fragile many of those wins — and losses — have been.

All nine of Los Angeles’ losses this season have come by double digits. Through 28 games, their point differential sits at just plus-8. That’s not the profile of a team imposing itself night after night.

Defensively, the slide has been noticeable. After finishing 17th in defensive rating last season, the Lakers have fallen to 24th to start this year. What happened in Phoenix made that decline impossible to ignore.

When It Slipped Away for the Los Angeles Lakers

The game turned quickly after halftime. Phoenix outscored the Lakers 45–29 in the third quarter, carving up the defense with ball movement, pace and clean looks. The Suns shot 72.7% from the field in the period and an absurd 83.3% from three, repeatedly beating rotations and punishing late closeouts.

For Redick, it wasn’t about game planning or preparation.

“We practice this stuff enough,” he said. “We review this stuff enough. We show film on this stuff enough that to me, it like comes down to … just making the choice. It’s making the choice.

“There are shortcuts you can take or you can do the hard thing and you can make the second effort or you can sprint back or you can’t. It’s just a choice.”

The message was clear: the scheme is there. The execution hasn’t been.

Shorthanded, But Not Off the Hook

The Lakers weren’t whole. Luka Dončić missed the game with a left calf contusion, and Rui Hachimura was out with right groin soreness. Both are considered day-to-day heading into the Christmas Day matchup with Houston.

Still, players were quick to shut down the idea that missing bodies explains the breakdowns.

LeBron James led the Lakers with 23 points and six assists in just 26 minutes. Austin Reaves returned from a three-game absence due to a strained left calf and scored 17 points off the bench on a minutes restriction.

“It has to be five guys on a string,” James said, a phrase he’s repeated throughout the season.

Reaves echoed that point, emphasizing how thin the margin is when attention slips even briefly.

“Everybody has got to be locked in every single possession,” he said. “Especially on rotations and schemes and stuff like that. We’ve shown we can do it. We just got to do it more regularly.”

Marcus Smart Didn’t Sugarcoat It

If Redick was blunt, Marcus Smart was even more direct.

“We doing s—,” Smart said. “We’re being real s—ty right now, and it’s showing.”

Smart, signed in the offseason to bring defensive edge and accountability, didn’t point fingers outward. He pointed them inward.

“There’s really no defense, no scheme we can do when we’re giving up offensive rebounds in crucial moments, or guys are getting wherever they want on the court,” he said. “There’s no help, there’s no resistance, there’s no urgency.

“And JJ is right. There’s really nothing he can do. It’s on us.”

Los Angeles Lakers Are Running Out of Time

Injuries have been part of the story all season — including James missing the first 14 games with sciatica — but the Lakers are running out of time to hide behind that reality.

With the trade deadline roughly six weeks away, effort-based issues tend to draw harsher scrutiny. Defensive slippage is one thing. A lack of consistent urgency is another.

If the Lakers don’t start showing meaningful improvement on that end of the floor, the question of who makes up “us” in the locker room may not stay theoretical for long.

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Tags :Austin ReavesJJ RedickLeBron JamesLos Angeles Lakersmarcus smartNBANBA NewsPhoenix Suns

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