The Los Angeles Lakers are going through a rough patch.
They suffered their second consecutive loss, this time falling to the Brooklyn Netsโa team that had been stuck in a seven-game losing streak.
Like many teams nearing the end of the season, injuries are piling up and affecting their performance.
LeBron Sidelined, Lakers Falter
LeBron James went down with an injury in the Lakersโ weekend matchup against Boston.
He is expected to miss at least a week, possibly two. Without their star, LA suffered a disappointing loss to a Brooklyn squad that had been stuck in a seven-game losing streak.
Despite jumping out to an early 12-point lead, LA couldnโt sustain their momentum. Brooklyn surged back behind Noah Clowneyโs 19 points off the bench, and LA couldnโt find a response.
Redick Frustrated With Lakersโ Performance
The Lakers were missing other key players like Jaxson Hayes, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Rui Hachimura.
But Redick refused to let injuries justify the teamโs lackluster play.
โI think our mentality was to take shortcuts tonight,โ Redick said after the game. โThey scored 20 points on us from gambling. We gave up 16 offensive rebounds because we ball-watched all night. They probably made six or seven uncontested threes. Just shortcuts.โ
Turnovers were another glaring issue. The Lakers committed twice as many as the Nets, disrupting their offense and gifting Brooklyn extra scoring opportunities.
โWe couldnโt even pass to each other. We couldnโt get into our offense,โ Redick continued. โWe were running ball screens at half courtโof course, thatโs going to end up in a turnover. I donโt know what we were doing.โ
Lukaโs Triple-Double Not Enough
Despite the struggles, Luka Donฤiฤ delivered an impressive triple-doubleโhis second since joining the Lakers. But his effort wasnโt enough to overcome LAโs careless mistakes and lack of defensive discipline.
But careless mistakes and second-chance points proved costly, as LA dropped its second straight game and slipped to third place in the Western Conference.
Redick wrapped up his press conference with a simple but harsh reality check:
โIf you want to be a good team and win in this league, you have to do the hard stuff.โ
