After surviving against the Utah Jazz late on the clock, the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t them give such an opportunity. The LA Lakers suffered the largest defeat of their season, a 29-point landslide. Defensively, they still did some great things, particularly holding Anthony Edwards at bay. However, until a few games ago, it was their offense that helped them win games. That has been lacking majorly, as tonight JJ Redick and Co. only put up 80 points.

Because JJ Redick saw his offensive ideologies executed in parts of prior games, he had felt this was only an “aberration”. However, even to him, it’s now starting to look like more than just a slight deviation. “I’ve not seen us play the way we played earlier in the year. I got to spend all day tomorrow with my staff trying to figure out how to get back to that,” he said after the Wolves’ demolition.

Over the last five games, the LA Lakers’ offensive rating has only been 102.9, a far cry from their 113.8 season average. They have been without Austin Reaves, an instrumental member of the scoring unit. Still, the results have been discouraging over the stretch. And JJ Redick can’t rest without finding the answers for good reason.

“This is just the nature of the NBA season. You don’t have a ton of time. Things you emphasize hopefully you get better at. And sometimes when you don’t emphasize something or you don’t work on something because you don’t necessarily have time or you think you’re good at, you think you have buy-in at it, it gets slippage. We got to clean that up,” the Lakers HC told the media.

The Lakers, having executed a dazzling offense at one point, do hold the capabilities to still do so. There seems to be a distance, however, between JJ Redick’s methods and the team’s execution at this very moment. As the coach, not only is Redick taking responsibility, but the rookie boss isn’t going to rest until he gets to the bottom of the problem.

In such troubling times, patience is key. Sadly, fans are running out of it.

JJ Redick’s ‘honesty’ is widely appreciated but the Lakers still face the brunt of the fans: “Pelinka is gonna burn…”

The last 5 games have been frustrating for Lakers fans. The Purple and Gold have won two, both against arguably lesser-competitive sides. Moreover, their margin of defeat against the top conference sides is alarming. Even though Redick professes improvements, fans are beside him watching Lakers basketball at this moment. They feel Redick has moved away from one of his primal changes.

A fan requested, “Run the O thru AD. Bench Bron more and quicker. It ain’t rocket science. When the offense flows through AD at the 5 the game is different,”. Over time, while his offensive contributions may seem less, AD remains the fulcrum. But there is some truth to it, as over the last five games, Davis is averaging fewer field goal attempts than LeBron James and averaging only 20% from three.

That by far isn’t the grave issue for the Lakers‘ offensive failures. The LA team’s primary ball handlers have forced significant turnovers in the early segments of the season. D’Angelo Russell is the most efficient of their recognized ball handlers, and his assist-to-turnover ratio only slightly eclipses 2. This makes some fans feel pity for JJ Redick.

“Love the honesty. Give JJ a team that will actually play hard,” a tweet mentioned. Despite their slump, the former Duke star has always had his sights clear. He wants to win titles with the Lakers. And for him, raising accountability has never been a problem. Hopefully, this too passes soon.

If not him, though, who’s at the root of these problems? Some fans have an idea based on JJ Redick’s confession. “He’s talking about our stars. Can’t call them out openly like he did with Gabe lol,” one such fan wrote. And there is some connection between the declining nucleus and a poor offense.

Notably, LeBron James is only averaging 16.6 points in the stretch of five games. Tonight, he only had 10, forcing six turnovers too. On the other hand, AD‘s efficiency suffering could be the core reason the Lakers’ scoring has waned as well. This isn’t blame, but rather the opportunity to self-reflect and identify the holes in the system.

Although a group of fans feel it’s not a player problem. Rather, the results are such because of the inadequate roster that resides around the Lakers’ star tandem. In that regard, Rob Pelinka came under fire!

“Offensive struggles and 26th in defense. Pelinka is gonna burn for this s— and I can’t wait til he does,” a furious Laker fan wrote.

Luckily, if there is a glaring need for the roster to improve, Pelinka has admitted he will use the Lakers’ draft capital if necessary. Over the past few weeks, several rumors have begun linking the club to Jazz’s Walker Kessler and even former Laker Kyle Kuzma.

Which is the best way for the Lakers to improve in your opinion? Let us know your views in the comments below.