The Lakers told themselves their four truths

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The end of 2025 brings an unexpected turnaround for the Lakers, where the pressure is already felt after a three-game losing streak including a home loss against the Rockets on Christmas Day. Everything has been ramped up more than elsewhere around the Purple and Gold franchise, and consultants and other pundits have already brought out the sulfate after this bad patch. LeBron James is too old, Austin Reeves doesn’t defend enough, and Luka Doncic is a soloist who can’t play without the ball.

If his observation is undoubtedly nuanced, JJ Reddick looked at the situation, calling a crisis meeting and practice that allowed him to redefine the basics of what his team must show in each matchup.

“Recalibrate and Reconnect”, he said on the key words from yesterday’s practice before talking about a meeting that allowed everyone to empty their bags to better move forward as two games at home against Sacramento and Detroit to finish the calendar year well. “I think that was the case with me as well. I will always look in the mirror first. I think it’s easy as a player or a coach to say: ‘You guys are to blame’, or ‘We’re not winning because of ourselves, to listen to the players and their needs. The truth is uncomfortable. You have to be able to get everything out, that’s all.

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The last three losses will at least have the merit of getting everything back on track and allowed JJ Redick to see that his group remains motivated and determined to get back on track to best position itself with the OKC-San Antonio-Denver triple.

“I think the group is aware of it. The group feels it, they are together on the field, they are together in meetings. There is nothing that has not been resolved”he added. “As a coach, there are times when you can’t address everything every day in front of the group, it just doesn’t work. My staff and I do a good job: If there’s something that needs to be addressed in the moment, we talk about it. But sometimes you need a bigger picture, and again, for us, it was about listening as much as anything else.”

To address criticism of the lack of cohesion and identity displayed in his troops’ last three outings, JJ Redick then used yesterday’s practice to insist on three essential points the Californians have lost sight of recently, starting with the role everyone must play on the team.

“I really believe it’s just about going back to the basics and understanding the needs of the team and the duties of each player to make it clearer. I know this, I’ve played, and what may seem very simple at first glance can become more complicated when you get into the heat of the game.”he added. “It’s probably going to take us more than a day to get there, but we have to rebuild our defensive fundamentals. That was the first priority for me. Then, everyone’s role clarity. Since we got LeBron James back, we haven’t been organized well enough on offense, there have been too many random possessions, and that’s my fault. It’s really about being clear on our three things as a player on defense: offense.”

Hosting Sacramento, the last in the Western Conference, tonight may be an opportunity for the Lakers to get on the right foot, knowing that Austin Reaves has just been injured for at least a month, and that a big challenge will be in front of JJ Redick to make up for his absence.