“It’s hard to win in the NBA. So, for us as a team, we’re gonna stay together and we’re gonna win these next few at home.” Max Christie had bold ambitions heading into the Lakers’ long homestand. Unfortunately, things are not going according to plan. Well, their first 2 home games got postponed because of the wildfires. And when the Lakers finally got a chance to play on Monday, they got absolutely decimated by the Spurs. Surprisingly, though, Austin Reaves took accountability for their underwhelming performance.

Addressing the Lakers’ terrible defense in recent games, Reaves said, “It starts with me. I’ve been shi–y the last three games. I’ve got to be better.” Sure, Austin is having a career year on offense, averaging about 18 points and six assists. However, he has not been very impactful on defense recently. He had a plus-minus rating of -18 against the Spurs and even committed four turnovers.

While AR15 took all the blame upon himself, JJ Redick freed him from that burden by saying, “We all gotta take ownership of that. We all gotta take responsibility on that and we gotta be better.”

Mind you, this wasn’t the first time JJ was addressing the ‘ownership’ point. But yesterday, the HC frequently used the word “atrocious” while describing the Lakers’ defense against Victor Wembanyama and Co. “The San Antonio game in particular was atrocious in terms of our team defense. We left every single guy on an island. It was atrocious.”

Well, they did give up 126 points on Monday, with 6 Spurs players scoring in double digits. And JJ revealed that he showed the team a film edit of their underwhelming defense this morning, hoping that the same mistakes will not be repeated against the Heat. “There are 15 to 20 clips where they just get to the rim and there is no shift, no low man, and it wasn’t even like they were getting to their bag… It was atrocious!” However, JJ Redick has not lost complete faith in his squad.

JJ Redick claims the Lakers can “compete with Anybody in the NBA” on ONE Condition!

Fortunately, the Lakers have five more games in LA before they’re back on the road again. And they can still turn things around if they lock in on defense and return to their winning ways. Sure enough, that journey starts tonight with the Heat encounter. Despite recent struggles, JJ has faith in his troops to get the job done. “I know that when we are a connected group, we could compete with anybody in the NBA,” he affirmed.

Well, the rookie head coach has done a brilliant job with the Lakers so far, helping them stay in playoff contention throughout, despite shaky form. With his attention to detail and hunger to win, JJ will surely do everything to help LeBron James and Co. correct their mistakes in the upcoming games. Do you think the Los Angeles Lakers can learn from their embarrassing loss and beat the Heat tonight?