The Los Angeles Lakers ended their road trip with a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, although the focus for a lot of players and fans is elsewhere at the moment.
Currently, the largest Santa Ana windstorm to hit Southern California in more than a decade is going on, causing fires all over the place, including the Pacific Palisades, Pasadena, La Cañada and more.
At least 30,000 residents were under evacuation orders and more than 13,000 structures were under threat in the Pacific Palisades alone, and that number has only continued to grow overnight and into the morning as the wind and fires continue to rage on.
Before the Lakers’ game against the Mavericks, head coach JJ Redick revealed that his family is among those that had to evacuate and offered prayers to all of those affected, via ESPN:
“I just want to acknowledge and send thoughts and prayers to everyone in the Palisades right now,” Redick said before the Lakers’ 118-97 loss to the Mavericks. “That’s where I live.
“Our family, my wife’s family, my wife’s twin sister, they’ve evacuated. I know a lot of people are freaking out right now, including my family. From the sound of things, with the winds coming [Tuesday night], I know a lot of people are scared. So I just want to acknowledge that. Thoughts and prayers for sure, and hope everybody stays safe.”
Redick’s family is in L.A. for the first year after he took the Lakers job so this has to be a terrifying experience for them and everyone else affected. First responders are doing everything they can to try to contain the fires but with the wind as bad as it is, that is nearly impossible.
The Lakers were expected to return home from Dallas late Tuesday night and the team will now be in Los Angeles for the next two weeks. Hopefully those affected by the fires can use this time to get all of their affairs in order, but the Lakers will return to the court on Thursday night when they host the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Arena.
Before that game, it will be understandable if Redick and others have their minds elsewhere as they and so many others continue to be affected by these fires.
JJ Redick not sure what Lakers were doing defensively vs. Mavericks
After the loss to the Mavericks, JJ Redick admitted that he wasn’t sure what the Lakers were trying to do defensively as they got torched by a team missing two stars.
“I’m not sure what our rotations were, I never saw us trying to execute what we were doing,” Redick admitted. “I haven’t watched the film yet, just watching it live and talking to the assistants who did watch on film, we’re not sure what was going on with the shift positioning and rotations. Never seen it before.”
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