3-7! Going into the matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, that was the win record that the Los Angeles Lakers held against their Eastern Conference Rival. With 6 Sixers stars being ‘OUT’ during the game, including Joel Embiid and Paul George, it seemed LeBron James and Co. held an advantage. Unfortunately, the matchup ended with JJ Redick’s side losing by a 118-104 score. While Anthony Davis’s early exit may have played a part, two key franchise members were pinning the blame elsewhere.

During the post-game presser, Redick was reminded the Lakers were up 20-17 before Anthony Davis’s exit. When asked what changed from that point onwards, the head coach revealed some doubts regarding where everyone’s minds were at. After all, playing back-to-back games, fatigue seemed to have overcome the players. Redick especially expressed concern about not defending Tyrese Maxey, and how opportunities weren’t utilized when they presented themselves. All in all, the 40-year-old didn’t choose to mince around with his words.

“Talked about the guys that were heavy shift guys, that we could be on a health position off of. Just, you know, it’s just: ‘Get to the basket, get to the basket, get to the basket, get to the basket’” said Redick. “Frankly, you’re not gonna win a game if somebody takes 19 more shots than you and gets 8 more offensive rebounds. We were throwing the ball everywhere. I think that is just, again, fatigue, mental and physical. Just bad decision-making and, you know, poor execution. Very unorganized throughout the game. You know, not our best.”

Even LeBron James seemed to agree with his head coach’s assessment. When asked what went wrong, the NBA All-Time scorer replied, “Just don’t think we were mentally sharp. We should have been a night. We made many mistakes, that’s it.”

Redick’s comments referenced how the LA franchise reportedly rotated multiple defenders on Tyrese Maxey. Unfortunately, none of them reportedly kept up with the 76ers star. This allowed him to end the night by scoring 43 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Meanwhile, except for LeBron James and Dalton Knecht, no other player even crossed the 20-point mark. However, despite scoring 31 points, even LeBron James was not out of Redick’s radar. After all, the head coach outright stated “I attribute (a few of) [LeBron’s] turnovers to a lot of fatigue”.

The Lakers faced off against the Golden State Warriors on January 25, just two days after they had won a game against the Boston Celtics. On the 27, they faced the Charlotte Hornets and, without a break in between, faced the 76ers the next day. Therefore, if one needed to question how the Lakers could defeat the defending champions (Celtics), and yet lose against the franchise with one of the worst win records this season (Philadelphia 76ers), the back-to-back schedule provides a clear reason. Even LeBron James and Dalton Knecht, the lead scorers for the Lakers, had an efficiency rating of -11 and -14. Recording a total of 22 turnovers in comparison to the 76ers’ 9 was a clear sign the Lakers squad was not playing up to their full potential.

The Lakers-76ers matchup once again brought Redick’s squad down to earth after they had won 6 of their last 7 games. It was a fact that the head coach was not happy about and wasn’t afraid to show it.

JJ Redick had a major meltdown after Austin Reaves made a 3-pointer during a timeout

When he became the Lakers head coach in June 2024, JJ Redick knew he had a tough task ahead of him. After all, he got the esteemed position despite having no prior coaching experience. As the ongoing season progressed, the 40-year-old showed signs of competence by getting the team into an early win streak.

Since then, however, their progress has been mixed. The dilemma with where the team is heading next would frustrate any head coach. Therefore, as mistakes were made during the Lakers-76ers game, they were not helping Redick’s mood.

At one point in the game, Austin Reaves had the ball and Justin Edwards defended him. As Reaves took his sweet time, Redick yelled at him from the sidelines to get a move on things. The 26-year-old didn’t get far before the referee blew the whistle for a timeout. As Redick walked away in frustration, Reaves used the ball, still in his hands, to make a 3-pointer.

This caused the head coach to grab it swiftly after it landed, throw it away, and yell in Reaves’ direction. Yikes!

While players may be experiencing fatigue, JJ Redick may have been down with a case of restlessness. With the next matchup against the Washington Wizards, one hopes that the situation for the team improves from that point onwards.