The Los Angeles Lakers endured a difficult Tuesday evening away in Phoenix, losing by 24 points to the Suns. Of course, these things happen, even with teams aspiring for the championship. And one bad loss shouldn’t cause this much panic. But then, we are talking about the Lakers here.
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The was a consequence of a regular pattern displayed by the 25-26 Lakers, and fans and journalists have pointed that out in earnest. We are talking about defense here.
This season, the vulnerability of the Lakers’ defense has been pointed out on various occasions. And that weakness was on full display during their 132-108 loss against the Suns. There were also tensions on the bench, with head coach JJ Redick singling Dalton Knecht out, criticizing him for not knowing the meaning of a “Flood” play.
The term basically means overloading one side of the court with players on different sides, which makes the defense scramble. Redick was furious that Knecht couldn’t follow his plan. But fans threw shade at Redick instead.
The consensus, even among those who aren’t particularly fans of Knecht, was that Redick was way below the mark. “I don’t even like Dalton, but this is terrible coaching,” a fan wrote on X.
Some tried to explain that Redick seems to rely more on Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, two of the best players on the Lakers roster this season. “Maybe give your players reps and let them learn instead of playing Luka and Reaves 38 mpg until they [are] injured,” said another fan.
“This is what makes JJ a pathetic coach!! He has completely killed Knecht’s confidence, and now he’s blaming Knecht! Bro JJ, improve ur coaching first [sic]. First, give Knecht the confidence by giving him proper mins with freedom to do his best,” another fan added, lambasting the coach.
The Lakers are currently 4th in the West and do seem to be prime contenders for a spot in the Conference Finals. But that doesn’t mean all is well. Remove Doncic, Reaves, and LeBron James from the side, and there would be real problems, both in offense and defense.
