PHOENIX – The situation Lakers Coach JJ Redick found himself in Tuesday night at Mortgage Matchup Center was a familiar one. Once again, he stood before reporters after his team looked lethargic and slow-footed in a loss—this time a 132-108 defeat to the Phoenix Suns.
It’s become a troubling pattern for the Lakers: all their losses have been by double digits. Despite entering Thursday’s Christmas Day matchup against the Houston Rockets with 10 more wins than losses, their point differential sits at a mere plus-eight. For context, the Suns, who have three fewer wins and four more losses than the Lakers, are the closest in point differential at plus-29.
Redick openly acknowledged that the Suns fit the profile of teams that have consistently troubled the Lakers.
“The theme with our team again is like these young teams that move, we just can’t move,” he said. “It’s like we’re stuck in mud.”
The Lakers’ struggles Tuesday went deeper than just missing 40% of their normal starting lineup (Luka Doncic and Rui Hachimura) due to injuries. Once again, they were out-worked, out-hustled, and consistently a step behind defensively. Those are common threads in their defeats.
As Redick put it, many of the Lakers’ problems came down to making tough choices.
“There [are] shortcuts you can take, or you can do the hard thing, and you can make the second effort or you can sprint back,” Redick explained. “Or you can’t. It’s just a choice. And there’s a million choices in a game, and you’re very likely not gonna make every choice correctly.
“But can you make the vast majority of ’em correctly? It gives you a chance to win.”
He added, “It’s not the easy choice. It’s human nature. We all do it. We do it on a daily basis. We make easy choices because it’s comfortable. Comfortable doesn’t win.”
Veteran guard Marcus Smart echoed Redick’s sentiments.
“We’re being real [expletive] right now, and it’s showing,” Smart said. “There’s really no defense, no scheme we can do when we’re giving up offensive rebounds in crucial moments like we are, or guys are getting wherever they want on the court. And there’s no help, there’s no resistance, there’s no urgency.
“And JJ is right. There’s really nothing he can do. It’s on us. We appreciate the coaches for everything they do, but it’s on us when it comes down, ultimately, we got to figure it out.”
That messaging led to new questions. Is there a difference between a team filled with players whose default is to play hard and physical versus a team that needs reminders?
“Yeah, that’s accurate,” Redick replied.
Do the Lakers, as currently constructed, have enough guys who naturally play that way?
“No,” Redick responded.
With the current roster, can the Lakers get consistent enough effort to improve defensively?
“I think so,” Redick said, after a three-second pause.
The Lakers, coming off their first back-to-back losses of the season, will have a chance to respond against the Rockets.
“The guys have been great about responding to challenges, whether that’s been injuries, a loss, poor performance,” Redick said. “A lot of games left. So we gotta continue that trend and we gotta stick together. You’re not gonna have a good taste in your mouth and you’re gonna be thinking about how you played, how the team’s playing. It’s like I told ’em, detach [on Wednesday]. Be with your family. Enjoy the holiday. We’ll all come with the right mentality on Christmas.”
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**ROCKETS AT LAKERS**
– **When:** Thursday, 5 p.m.
– **Where:** Crypto.com Arena
https://www.pasadenastarnews.com/2025/12/24/jj-redick-delivers-blunt-criticism-of-lakers-defensive-effort/
