Lakers struggling against young teams?
The Lakers lost two games in a row for the first time this season, and once again the defense was up to par Phoenix conceded a big defeat. “They scored on the first thirteen possessions of the second half. . . . They had about 140 points of offensive efficiency. . . . It was 1.43 points per possession as soon as they got into the game. They got to the ball every possession. We couldn’t stop them . . .” states JJ Reddick.
The Lakers were without Luka Doncic last night, and JJ Redick made the 17th starting five in 28 games!
“But that’s obviously no excuse. You have to play the match that’s presented, regardless of the circumstances…” replies LeBron James. “We’re trying to do that, but we didn’t tonight. We didn’t make it to that level. We also know that the most important thing in this league is health, and hopefully we can get it back at some point.”
Possibility of court
But health is not enough, and defense remains problematic. How to find the trigger? “It’s the same thing I’ve been saying from the beginning: the five players have to be connected, connected by the same thread” explains LeBron James. “Then they had a lot of well-contested mid-range shots. This is a sector we sometimes agree to concede. What we don’t want to give up are points on the counterattack, second chances and open 3-point shots. But they’re a very good mid-range team. Booker puts it in, Bouieo Dix puts it in. They should be congratulated for that.
For JJ Reddick, there’s a recurring problem, and he’s identified it.
“Faced with young and mobile teams, we can’t keep up. We feel like we’re stuck in the mud. The zone didn’t work, then we switched to individual defense with the desire to switch to all positions in the second half, and that didn’t work either. You have no options at that point.”
2025-12-24 07:51:00
