The Los Angeles Lakers looked like a solid bet to advance in the Emirates NBA Cup as they hosted the San Antonio Spurs in the quarterfinals.
The Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama who continues to rehab from a calf strain, so the Lakers knew they would have the advantage without the superstar big man on the floor. However, Los Angeles wound up losing handily as they were out outran by a hungrier San Antonio team.
Not only did the Lakers get eliminated from the tournament, but they raised even more questions about their legitimacy as a title contender. Los Angeles looked completely disjointed for large portions of the game, especially on the defensive end as they allowed San Antonio to carve them up.
Head coach JJ Redick was critical of the Lakers’ defense, particularly in transition and at the point of attack.
“Just didn’t do a good job getting back in transition,” he said after the game. “There’s a lot of things that stood out. I think being able to contain the basketball is probably the most difficult thing for our team right now.”
Redick also noted that L.A. has been poor on the margins, so more players have to step up.
“Yeah, you get better at that. You get better with our shifts. The things that help you win on the margins we’re just not very good at right now. And we got to ask a little bit more of everybody,” Redick added.
“We don’t crash, we can’t force a lot of turnovers. We did a terrible job at the end of the first quarter and the second quarter and the end of quarter stuff. So that immediately we’re behind the eight ball there. And if a team shoots well, we’re going to be really in trouble.”
Redick also acknowledged that there’s been a through line in each of the team’s losses this season.
“Very few teams don’t have something that you can expose. And we consistently get exposed to the same things,” he said.
As Redick mentioned, it feels like each loss has been by a huge margin and that’s largely due to a lack of effort and attention to detail. Players have taken accountability for their inability to execute the game plan in the past, but at some point Redick and the staff need to find a different way to get their message across.
Rich Paul critical of Lakers’ culture compared to Heat
Rich Paul is one of the more vocal agents in the NBA and he recently made several comments regarding the Lakers. There appear to be some hard feelings over how the team handled LeBron James’ contract situation as Paul has made multiple comments regarding the organizaion.
In a sit down with Max Kellerman, Pau made pointed comments about the Lakers’ culture compared to the Miami Heat’s.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
