JJ Redick is facing some early adversity in his first season coaching the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers opened 3-0, but they have since dropped four of their last five games. On Wednesday night, they fell 131-114 to the Memphis Grizzlies. With Anthony Davis sidelined, Memphis shot 51.6 percent from the floor to blow out Los Angeles.
During his post-game press conference, a reporter asked Redick about the team’s effort. The 40-year-old cut off the end of the inquiry before ending his media availability.
“You’re talking a lot about two or three guys, getting them to put in the effort. You talked a lot about wanting to play hard and LeBron being the guy that played hard in tonight’s game,” the reporter said. “How do you address that with the team? What’s your philosophy for approaching ..”
“I just did,” Redick interjected before putting down his microphone and abruptly leaving.
According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Redick shouted back, “First thing I said to them” as he walked away.
Redick appeared to send a message to D’Angelo Russell, who played a season-low 22 minutes on Wednesday. The head coach explained the point guard’s reduced court time.
“Just level of compete, attention to detail, some of the things we’ve talked with him about for a couple of weeks,” Redick said. “And at times, he’s been really good with that stuff. And other times, it’s just reverting back to certain habits. But it wasn’t like a punishment. It just felt for us to have a chance to win this game, that was the route we wanted to take.”
Redick also commended a “fantastic” performance from LeBron James, who recorded 39 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Some may interpret his comments about the star player as a shot at everyone else.
“Biggest thing that stood out. … He played hard,” Redick said. “Almost 40 years old and played the hardest on our team. It says a lot about him.”
The Lakers will host one of Redick’s former teams, the Philadelphia 76ers, on Friday night.
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