JJ Redick fumes at Lakers players inside locker room after insubstantial offensive execution vs. Suns: Report
JJ Redick reportedly made his feelings clear when he fumed at the LA Lakers players inside the locker room following their 109-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. LA blew an 18-point lead in the first quarter and the rest of the contest was about catching up and trading baskets before eventually being outplayed by the Suns duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.
The Lakers suffered their first loss of the season and Redick, already a picture of disappointment during the postgame press conference was later reportedly heard lambasting the players. Per The Athletic's Jovan Buha on X (formerly Twitter):
"LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura all spoke to how pissed off JJ Redick was in the locker room postgame after the loss."
The Lakers were outplayed 25-14 in the second quarter, and later 33-22 in the fourth. Redick himself had acknowledged in the press conference about the need to not have had a poor second quarter and that he was accountable for it.
JJ Redick was seen visibly upset at LeBron James for botching a possession
JJ Redick was a picture of rage when LeBron James and the Lakers botched a possession in the second quarter. The cameras panned on the head coach as he was seen blasting an expletive.
"Shoot the f**king ball," Redick yelled.
LA's pair of Dalton Knecht and D'Angelo Russell gave up the opportunity to shoot leaving James as their last option, who drove to the rim with three seconds left and was stripped by Suns' star Devin Booker. There were several instances throughout the game when Redick appeared to be miffed with the side of sloppy play on both ends of the floor.
Anthony Davis continued his dominance with another double-double as he recorded 29 points and 15 rebounds. Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura had field days with 23 and 20 points respectively. However, it was an off day for James as he went 3-14 from the field and 2-5 from beyond the arc.
The Lakers suffered their first loss on Monday and will look to bounce back to winning ways when they resume their road trip with the next stop at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse where they take on James' former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. It will be interesting to see if they can regroup and get past the well-paced Cavs who are on a 4-0 run to start the season.