JJ Redick did not mince words in his assessment of his Los Angeles Lakers’ holiday performance.
The Lakers coach lambasted his team Thursday after they were blitzed 119-96 against the Houston Rockets in front of their home fans at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif. The Lakers entered the game with a better record than the Rockets, but looked like the inferior team from the opening tip.
Speaking to reporters during his postgame press conference, Redick said the Lakers looked like “a terrible basketball team” against their Western Conference rivals. Redick also claimed some of his players have been all talk when it comes to building winning habits.
“Guys will say they want to win,” Redick said. “But the care factor, to me, is like, ‘Do I care enough to actually do what I’m supposed to do and just do it consistently?’ And that’s really what the championship habits are. And that’s what we don’t have right now.”
The Lakers never led in the contest, falling behind by as many as 24 points. The Rockets demolished the Lakers on the glass, 48-25, and pounded the ball inside for 68 points in the paint.
Redick hasn’t been afraid to call out any of his players. Even LeBron James managed to draw Redick’s ire when James got too friendly with Phoenix Suns players during a blowout loss earlier this month. The Lakers coach also stormed out of a press conference last month after his team got embarrassed by the Atlanta Hawks.
Despite Thursday’s loss, the 19-10 Lakers remain one of the better teams in a crowded Western Conference. But it’s clear Redick is setting the bar higher than a third-straight Lakers first-round exit.
