The Los Angeles Lakers’ early-season momentum has hit a serious roadblock. Their 109-80 defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves wasn’t just their worst loss of the season — it exposed cracks in a system struggling to balance defense and offense. After the game, head coach JJ Redick and team leader LeBron James didn’t sugarcoat the issues, offering stark assessments of a team searching for answers.
The Lakers entered the season with high expectations under Redick’s leadership, but their offense has sputtered after a promising start. Currently ranked 26th in offensive rating, the team’s lack of ball movement and spacing is no longer something Redick can dismiss.
“It’s looking increasingly like it’s not an aberration,” Redick admitted bluntly after the loss. His frustration was evident, especially as he pointed to the breakdown in fundamentals that have made the Lakers’ offense predictable. “We’re not playing today like we’ve played all year. I’ve got to spend tomorrow with my staff trying to figure out how we get back to that.”
Redick also highlighted Anthony Davis’s diminished offensive impact, noting how stagnation in the team’s movement has made him easier to guard.“When [Anthony Davis] started the season, we didn’t have to always play for him to get the ball in a scoring position. We naturally found it through the offense, and he’s not getting any easy ones right now,” Redick explained.
Davis echoed the frustration in a tweet after the game: “Sometimes we look like a team that can compete with anyone, and sometimes we look like a team that looks terrible.”
The loss was a low point in a frustrating stretch for LeBron James. The Lakers’ leader managed just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting and has now missed 19 straight 3-point attempts over the last four games.
“It’s just not good offensively right now,” James said, pulling no punches about the team’s form. He pointed to spacing issues and a lack of ball movement, which is a preseason priority. “Guys are on top of each other. [we’re] not getting our running habits back like we did early on.”
LeBron James MVP Odds
Although he’s far from his previous MVP status, according to BetMGM, one of the best US sportsbooks, LeBron remains the driving force for the Lakers. The 22-year veteran acknowledged the physical toll of back-to-back games. “Tonight was challenging. We played to the wire last night, flew in late, and faced a team waiting for us.
One of the recurring themes from both Redick and LeBron was the Lakers’ struggle to find a balance between offense and defense. Redick pointed out that while the team’s defense has improved, it came at the cost of their offensive rhythm. “We spent so much time trying to get our defense corrected that our offense just took a toll and took a back seat,” he said.
LeBron echoed those sentiments, admitting the challenge of executing a high-energy, movement-heavy offensive system while maintaining defensive intensity. “If that’s what we want to be, then we’ve got to get it done,” LeBron said.
What’s Next for the Lakers?
The Lakers sit at 12-9, a record that LeBron called a reflection of their uneven performances.
“We’ve been good at times, we’ve been poor at times,” he said. “But it’s what you’d expect with a new system, new coaching staff, and new players.”
For his part, Redick has vowed to work with his staff to reignite the offense. With upcoming games against the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks, the Lakers are running out of time to find answers before the season’s challenges pile up.
The stakes for a team with championship aspirations are clear: the offense must catch up with the defense, or the Lakers risk watching their season unravel in the unforgiving Western Conference.
