After the Los Angeles Lakers’ dismal performance in the 96:119 defeat against the Houston Rockets on Christmas, head coach JJ Redick, Luka Doncic and Jarred Vanderbilt also had clear words.
At the press conference, Redick called the Lakers’ performance “terrible” and also noted that the upcoming practice would be “uncomfortable” for some players.
Doncic, who was his team’s top scorer with 25 points, made a similar statement afterwards: “I don’t know what needs to change, but something definitely has to change. We have to figure it out, that’s crucial. Everyone has to talk about it. I know JJ said it’s going to be uncomfortable. But that’s how it should be.”
Negative trend continues
The Lakers suffered their third defeat in a row against the Rockets. In the last ten games they left the floor as losers six times. The Lakers’ defense remains the big construction site. Six Rockets players scored in double figures, led by Amen Thompson with 26 points.
But the effort was also poor in the one-sided game. The Rockets got 23 more rebounds. This topic is nothing new for Vanderbilt, despite the outstanding start to the season.
“Basically it’s been the same all year long how we lose games: transition defense, rebounding and things like that,” the forward explained. “That’s been a trend throughout the season. When you win, it’s obviously masked. Now it’s just a little more significant.”
“Everyone has to show more effort”
Doncic also emphasized that the entire team had to recognize his lack of concentration, especially himself.
“It will probably be uncomfortable, but everyone has to show more effort – including myself,” emphasized the Slovenian and added: “We have to challenge everyone. Everyone has to challenge their teammates and each other. There is no reason why we should play like that. We just have to be better than that.”
The Lakers (19-10) have the next chance to get back on the road to success on Monday (3:30 a.m.) against the Sacramento Kings (7-23). They will be without Austin Reaves, who suffered a calf injury against the Rockets.