JJ Redick sends LA a 4-word message after Rockets loss

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles LakersThe current losing streak hit three games after their 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day. For the Lakers, there are plenty of questions to discuss regarding their poor play of late. But for the head coach JJ Redickthe ultimate reason for the recent extension of the team may be summarized in four simple words.

“We didn’t care enough,” Redick said after the Lakers’ Christmas Day loss to the Rockets. “And that’s the part that bothers me a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary, and we don’t care enough to be professionals. We had it, we had it. I always say that about culture, I always say that a good team is a functional organism, that’s how it can change. We don’t have that right now.”

From the opening tip, the Lakers were a step slower than the Rockets on both ends of the court. At the beginning of the first quarter, they had a double-digit deficit, 18-8, and at the end of the period they lost 37-25.

It was still a double-digit deficit at halftime, and the second half didn’t get any better with the Rockets leading by 20 points almost halfway through the third quarter. The Lakers couldn’t rebound, couldn’t get stops and couldn’t string together enough consistency on offense. To make matters worse, Austin Reeves was sent off in the second half due to his ongoing shin injury. In the first half, Reaves was the only consistent offensive threat for the team.

JJ Redick didn’t mince words when summing up what kind of team the Lakers are right now, admitting he told the team after the game to expect an uncomfortable practice this weekend.

“The two words of the day were effort and execution. I feel like when we did both of those things at a high level, we were a good basketball team,” Redick said. “When we’re not, we’re a terrible basketball team, and we were a terrible basketball team tonight. It started right away legitimately.”

The Lakers were outscored by the Rockets 48-25. They allowed 24 second chance points compared to their 10 and 16 fast break points compared to their 11.

Tuesday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns marked the first time this season that the Lakers have lost back-to-back games. Redick promised the Lakers will have the right mentality on Christmas, but that was not the case. The Lakers’ next chance to get back in the win column is on Sunday, December 28, when the Sacramento Kings come to town.