“It Wasn’t LeBron James’ Best Performance Going into Crunch Time”: JJ Redick Lays out Criticism, Praises Team’s Resilience

The Los Angeles Lakers won their fifth straight game tonight in a close contest against the New Orleans Pelicans. After falling behind at the half, JJ Redick’s side put together a strong third-quarter performance. But they ended up losing the fourth quarter again by 1 point.

Going up against an injury-riddled Pelicans side, Redick clearly did not want the game to go down to the wire. He expressed some frustration with his team’s inability to dominate, laying some of the blame on his #23, LeBron James. But the rookie coach admitted that LBJ’s clutch performance, although not extraordinary by his standards, helped the Lakers retain the lead.

“Let’s be honest, it wasn’t his [James’] best performance going into crunch time,” Redick stated during the post-game press conference in New Orleans.

After recording three historic back-to-back triple-doubles, James had an off night against the Pelicans. He went scoreless during the first and third quarters, missing his first five three-point attempts and contributing six turnovers to the box score.

However, his experience and composure steadied the ship for LA down the stretch as LeBron hit two clutch threes in the final two minutes to seal the road game and clinch a 99-104 win for the Lakers. As Redick put it, “unsurprisingly, he delivered.”

Despite seeing some areas of concern in his roster, Redick lauded their effort in remaining engaged throughout the game. “Beyond just LeBron’s crunch time performance, like, our group, in some ways…We stayed connected, we kept fighting. The resiliency that we showed tonight was good.”

‘Perseverance’ would be a good description for the Lakers’ game plan right now. Though they are on a five-game win streak, their last three wins were by a margin of five points and came against teams at the bottom of the Western Conference.

While it is concerning to see James and Anthony Davis struggle to dominate against weaker opposition, Redick’s side too has been bit by the injury bug.

Rui Hachimura and Cam Reddish joined the injury list for the Lakers last night. Key rotational players Jaxson Hayes, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood have also been missing from action, forcing Redick to ‘piece-meal’ some lineups together.

The 40-year-old wanted to put the spotlight on some of the younger players who have stepped up during the recent stretch, praising Max Christie in particular, who slotted in for Reddish last night.

“He guarded his b*tt off all night. Not a big offensive night and then he gets that offensive rebound, tip out to kind of seal the win for us. That was huge,” the Lakers’ head coach added.

JJ: "The resiliency we showed tonight was really good." pic.twitter.com/6WzcTsNmS0

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 17, 2024

Christie’s box score was not flattering by any means—he ended the night with just 2 points, sinking 1 of his 6 field goal attempts—but two steals and a block exemplified the third-year player’s effort all night.

With their fifth consecutive win, the Lakers have secured the fourth seed in the Western Conference for now. But the Phoenix Suns are hot on their tail. On Tuesday, the 26th of November, both 9-4 teams will face off in Arizona in a matchup that will pit LeBron James against Kevin Durant.