Redick opens up on what Saturday's film session meant for his struggling team.
The Los Angeles Lakers came into this season with major expectations after the blockbuster trade that brought Luka Dončić to town, but a recent slump has raised concerns.
Los Angeles has now lost three straight games and six of their last 10 after starting the year 15-4, and the struggles have pushed head coach JJ Redick to take a different approach.
Following a tough 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day that dropped the Lakers to 19-10 on the season, Redick promised an "uncomfortable" practice for his team.
However, when Saturday's session arrived, the second-year coach struck a much softer tone and focused on what his team needs moving forward.
Redick Takes Accountability
After calling out his players' effort and professionalism on Christmas Day, Redick spoke with reporters on Saturday and described the practice as a day of "recalibration and reconnection" for the Lakers.
"Recalibration and reconnection. I think too, today, for myself, I'm always gonna look in the mirror first," Redick said. "I think it's easy as a player or coach to say well it's this guy's fault, or we're not doing this because of X, Y and Z. We had a great meeting as a staff this morning, came in super early and met with the players. It was very positive. And it was also listening. For our staff and myself to listen to the players and what they need."
The change in tone marks a big shift from Redick's Christmas Day comments, when he said the Lakers looked like "a terrible basketball team" and questioned whether his players cared enough to be professionals. He also said at the time that he wasn't going to "do another 53 games like this."
A Different Look From the Lakers
The Lakers have struggled on both ends of the floor during their losing streak, getting outscored and outrebounded by a wide margin.
Dončić leads the league with 33.7 points per game this season, along with 8.5 rebounds and 8.7 assists, but even his strong play hasn't been enough to stop the slide.
Meanwhile, LeBron James is averaging 20.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.8 assists on the year after returning from a sciatica injury that kept him out of the first 14 games.
Making matters worse, star guard Austin Reaves will miss at least four weeks after being diagnosed with a grade 2 left gastrocnemius strain.
Reaves left the Christmas Day game at halftime with calf soreness and will be reevaluated after the four-week period.
Looking Ahead
The Lakers will look to put Saturday's reset into action when they host the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.
The Kings enter the game with an 8-23 record but are coming off a win against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, so Los Angeles will need to bring better effort and execution to snap their losing streak.
After the Kings game, the Lakers will host the Detroit Pistons before embarking on a tough stretch in January that includes road games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and other Eastern Conference teams.
For now, the focus is on getting back to the basics that helped them start the season so strong.