Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss of 131-114 to the Memphis Grizzlies, head coach JJ Redick faced questions regarding his choice to bench starting point guard D’Angelo Russell.
In the postgame press conference, Redick explained the reason for Russell’s limited playtime, as he managed just six minutes in the second half.
Russell tallied 12 points in a season-low 22 minutes, shooting 4-of-12 overall and 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. However, his underwhelming defensive effort was particularly notable.
This was the sequence that got D’Angelo Russell benched for the remainder of the game
Did JJ Redick overreact? 🤔
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) November 7, 2024
“It was just a level of compete, attention to detail, some of the things we’ve discussed with him over the past few weeks,” Redick said regarding the decision to bench Russell. “At times, he has been effective in those areas, but there are also moments where he reverts to previous habits.”
“However, it was not meant as a punishment,” Redick clarified. “It simply felt like for us to have a shot at winning, that was the path we needed to follow.”
The sole bright point for the Lakers was 39-year-old LeBron James, who concluded the game with an impressive 39 points (15-for-24 FG; 6-for-11 3PT).
After a strong start to the season, Redick seems to be experiencing the challenges of NBA coaching for the first time. Following a reporter’s inquiry about the effort levels among his players, the 40-year-old abruptly left the press conference.
In the end, the Lakers wrapped up their road trip with a disappointing 1-4 record, bringing their season record to 4-4.
