The Lakers have spent most of the season on the nice list with a 19-7 start, but the past week has seen them fall off of a cliff, losing on the road by the Clippers and the Suns. They returned to Crypto.com Arena yesterday, but rather than being able to celebrate coming home for the holidays, they were given a big lump of coal by Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant and the rest of the Rockets.
Advertisement
At 19-10, the Lakers are still in fine shape in the standings. They’re tied with the Wolves for fourth in the West, but while teams like the Spurs are surging, L.A. is going in the wrong direction, a troubling sign with the All-Star Game and trade deadline almost in sight.
Head coach JJ Redick didn’t hold back after the game when asked about his team.
“We don’t care enough right now,” he said. “And that’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be professional.”
Redick said the Lakers were “a terrible basketball team” from the get-go due to a lack of effort and execution, and he made it clear that one way or another, that’s going to change.
“Saturday’s practice, I told the guys, it’s going to be uncomfortable,” he said. “The meeting is gonna be uncomfortable. I’m not doing another 53 games like this.”
In today’s NBA, it’s more difficult than it used to be to be a taskmaster and to hold players accountable. Teams tend to go the way their stars go, and most star players don’t sign up to be coached that way. It was refreshing, then, to see Luka Doncic immediately get on board with Redick’s new approach.
Luka Doncic: “I don’t know what has to change, but definitely something needs to change…We got to figure out, that’s the thing we have [to do]. Everybody got to talk about it. I know JJ said it’s going to be uncomfortable. As [it] should be.” pic.twitter.com/43M3CYQfEx
— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) December 26, 2025
Luka shot the ball pretty well in this one, but his six turnovers didn’t help the Lakers’ cause. It also didn’t help that Austin Reaves sat out the second half due to a calf strain.
The Rockets dominated the Lakers on the boards 48-25, which is probably the main reason Redick was so upset. They also led after the first quarter by 12, continuing a worry trend for L.A. in which they haven’t led through 12 minutes since a December 4th win over the Raptors. That was nine games ago.
It’s an honor to be showcased in one of the NBA’s Christmas games, but it’s also an opportunity to be exposed in front of a huge audience, and that’s what happened with the Lakers yesterday. We’ll see if Redick is able to whip them back into shape, and if Luka can help lead by example to pull them out of the hole. New Year’s is fast approaching, and the Lakers need to make a resolution and stick to it.
