One of the players who seems to be benefitting greatly from the changes head coach JJ Redick has brought in to the Los Angeles Lakers is Austin Reaves. Redick has made him more of a primary creator for this team and the guard is off to a strong start to the season.
Lost in another excellent Anthony Davis performance against the Phoenix Suns was Reaves knocking down five 3-pointers and finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals, but the Lakers still suffered their first loss to the season.
After the game, Redick took much of the blame for the loss on himself, believing there were things he could have done to help the Lakers out and Reaves felt that accountability, and the passion he has shown, is proof of how much he cares about what he does and making the Lakers better, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“We’ve had many conversations on the golf course about just the competitive nature that he brings, that I bring, that this whole team brings to be honest. I felt like he was very encouraging, we talked about some of the things we did well and some of the things that he said that he could’ve done better. That just shows what a great leader looks like. He came in and said that we probably should’ve went to Fire on KD a little earlier because he had it going. He looked back in the midst of the whole game and said we could’ve done this, this and this. We just got to accept the loss, watch the film and get better from it… He said what he had to say when we were walking out, let out a little F word, which just shows how much cares. His passion is on another level. You can tell every single second of every day that he’s locked in to the betterment of our group.”
This Lakers team as a whole has bought into Redick’s message and it is paying dividends. Even in their first loss to the season, the effort and competitiveness never wavered across the board. Some things weren’t executed as well as they could have been from players and coaches alike, but Redick’s willingness to take that blame says a lot to the team and will allow them to do the same when they come up short as well.
Examples are set from the top down and Redick is doing a great job with that on his end. It clearly stands out to Reaves and the rest of the Lakers team which will ultimately make them all better in the long run.
Anthony Davis says JJ Redick was ‘pissed’ after Lakers loss to Suns
That anger and passion from head coach JJ Redick wasn’t just apparent to Austin Reaves, but also to Anthony Davis who made note of it as well.
Davis said Redick was ‘pissed’ after the loss, but noted that all of the Lakers were and it isn’t just on Redick to take the blame, players must take accountability as well. Davis did add that Redick’s anger made him confident that the Lakers will be ready when they take the floor in their next game.
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