Lakers coach JJ Redick said Saturday was a day of “resettling and reconnecting” for the team, which is going through a rough patch.
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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The questions escalated quickly for Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton following the team’s first workout since a disappointing Christmas Day loss to the Houston Rockets, which prompted Lakers coach JJ Redick to publicly rebuke his team’s effort.
How was the energy of the group? Was what needed to be said said? And how was it received?
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Wait a minute,” Ayton said. “It’s too much. They’re bombarding me with so many questions.”
The Lakers have had more questions than answers lately, with a three-game losing streak extending their skid to six losses in their last 10 games. And all of their 10 losses this season have been by 10 points or more.
To make matters worse, starting guard Austin Reaves was diagnosed with a calf strain following an MRI on Friday and is expected to be out for four weeks.
All of this served as a backdrop when the team met this Saturday for what Redick had promised would be an “awkward” meeting to get back on track.
After the Lakers finished that meeting and Saturday’s unusually long workout, Redick seemed considerably more composed when speaking to reporters than he did after the loss to the Rockets.
“Me, personally, I’m always going to look in the mirror first,” said the coach in his second year. “And I think it’s easy, as a player or as a coach, to say, ‘It’s this guy’s fault,’ or ‘We’re not doing this because of X, Y and Z.'”
Was it uncomfortable?
“The truth is uncomfortable,” Redick acknowledged, “so you have to put it all on the table, that’s all.”
Instead of looking for blame, Redick indicated that it was a day of “realignment and reconnection” for his team, which still remains in fourth place in the Western Conference despite the losing streak.
“We had a great meeting as a coaching staff this morning,” Redick said. “We arrived very early and met with the players and it was very positive and it was also a listening exercise. It was also for our coaching staff, and myself, to listen to the players and what they need.”
Starting forward Rui Hachimura, one of three players who declined to speak after the Houston game, along with LeBron James and Marcus Smart, spoke to reporters Saturday about those needs.
“We just talked about how everyone, players and coaches, has to try harder,” Hachimura said. “We had a good start, and now, I don’t know, we relax. Or we get tired of winning. But we just stop doing what we’re supposed to do.”
James and Smart declined to speak again Saturday.
Redick, who also criticized several players for their repeated failures after the Rockets game without mentioning names, was asked if those players had been directly communicated with the improvements he wanted to see from them.
“I think so, and I think the group is aware,” Redick responded. “The group feels it. They’re on the court together. They’re together in meetings… There was nothing that needed to be addressed that hasn’t been addressed.”
Redick said the team used Saturday to review the group goals it established at the beginning of training camp and its commitment to the habits of a championship team.
And he sought to achieve three things: “Defensive clarity, role clarity and offensive organization,” Redick said.
Redick added that there have been too many “random possessions” on offense since James returned from a sciatica injury that kept him sidelined for the first 14 games of the season. The Lakers have an 8-5 record in the 13 games the 23-year-old veteran has played this season.
Lakers center Deandre Ayton said he will take on a vocal leadership role on the defensive side.
“Demand responsibility from my teammates, starting with me,” Ayton said. “No matter how the game goes, we stick to these principles no matter what… That’s how we’re going to play defense: with intensity and extra effort.”
Ayton admitted that the Lakers lacked focus when they were outrebounded by the Rockets (48-25), with Ayton, who averages 8.7 rebounds per game, grabbing just two in 36 minutes. “It’s a simple mistake. They’re really simple mistakes, like not blocking rebounds well or not trying hard enough,” he said. “We just weren’t focused enough on paying attention to the small details.”
For his part, Hachimura pointed out that he knows what he must do to help the team get out of this bad streak.
“I have to focus more on bringing energy and being more physical,” Hachimura said. “Those kinds of things will help us.”
The Lakers host the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, the first of four consecutive home games over the next week and a half.
“It is an adverse situation, these things happen,” Ayton concluded. “And I’m looking forward to seeing how we recover from this.”
