JJ Redick & Co. sent out a clear message to the rest of the NBA world. It’s a redefined Lakers unit with a new “edge”. Tonight, the team took on the Washington Wizards after the embarrassing loss against the short-handed 76ers. The team went without their key assets and managed to dominate the home side right from the tip-off. It was a reflection of Redick’s fresh locker room words that catalyzed a fiery performance. And as a side effect, it irked an unusual reaction from Austin Reaves.

The message was to go out and play attacking ball. The Lakers did exactly the same. Notably, this involved a bit of chirping as well, which ultimately produced the first career ejection for the rookie, Dalton Knecht.

After the game, JJ Redick wanted to announce the arrival of the new team. When a reporter at the presser asked the coach about the team’s performance tonight, he said, “First of all, asked the guys to play with an edge. I thought they did that. We were the instigators.” However, while a fair share of edge negatively impacted the refs, Coach JJ addressed it too, seeking penance. “Did not intend for some of that edge to be taken out on the officials by a couple of our guys.” 

The third quarter saw a lot of arguments between the Lakers and refs. Despite leading the Wizards over 30 points, the LA side was keen on getting the calls. The players as well as the online community felt that the Lakers weren’t even getting obvious foul calls. On one such occasion, Austin Reaves, frustrated with the lack of calls, had an adverse reaction. He slammed the towel to the floor in frustration while returning to the bench on a timeout, a reflection of JJ Redick’s new message, maybe. Mind you, the lead was 32 points at the time.

JJ Redick’s words didn’t just affect Austin Reaves, there’s more to it

In the same quarter, Dalton Knecht, who has rarely shown his emotions on the court, got ejected tonight. With less than 2 minutes left in the quarter, the rookie pulled a three-point attempt from the wing. The Wizards’ defender was clearly on Knecht’s landing region and the ref was unmoved, calling it a clean shot.

The star from Tennessee wasn’t impressed with the decision and went on arguing. While the ref slapped a technical foul on him immediately, he instantly followed it with another T, effectively ejecting him from the game. Even though it’s a stain in a player’s career, Redick seemed impressed with his players. He added, “I like that we were angry. Tonight, we played angry. Overall just execution was great.”

On the other hand, veteran superstar LeBron James also delivered a fair share of ‘edge’ with his unique style of arguing. The 4x NBA Champ has already made it to the memes several times with his animated arguments with the refs. The face that James makes when he thinks something is believable is priceless. Tonight, he made one such expression. It wouldn’t be surprising if it made it to the meme world.