Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick shared his disappointment and embarrassment after a 134-93 loss against the Miami Heat on Wednesday. Redick, who is leading the Lakers for the first time as a rookie coach, said they got to take ownership on the court and he took the blame for a big loss on his shoulders.
Redick admitted they are having trouble on both sides of the court, and it is leading to the team’s downfall.
“We’re having trouble right now on both ends with, like, base-level game-plan stuff,” Redick said after the Lakers lost for the sixth time in the past eight games. “It’s odd. It’s very odd.”
The head coach said it is imperative for him and the players to take ownership of such an ignominious loss.
“Has to be some ownership,” Redick said. “You can splinter, and it’s easy to not want the ownership, particularly when it’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed. We’re all embarrassed. It’s not a game that I thought we had the right fight, the right professionalism.”
Redick added: “There has to be some ownership on the court, and I’ll take all the ownership in the world. This is my team and I lead it and I’m embarrassed. But I can’t physically get us organized. I can’t physically be into the basketball. I can’t physically talk and call out [switches] and physically call out coverages. … And by the way, I’m not blaming players. It’s not. I own this, but going to need some ownership on the court as well. … There’s not a sense from me that we’re together right now.”
On the other hand, LeBron James, who scored 29 points on 12-18 shooting, concurred with Redick.
“I agree with everything JJ said,” James said, making it clear he would not come off as unaligned with the first-year coach. “Whatever he said, I agree 100 percent, 1,000 percent.”
Meanwhile, Anthony Davis is optimistic that the team will be able to turn a corner in the upcoming matches.
“I have the utmost confidence in this group and this coaching staff,” Davis said. “I personally just think it starts with me. If I play better, then guys play better. I definitely take accountability, especially the last couple of games. Just not being there for the team on the offensive end.”
The Lakers will next take on the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
