J.J. Redick ‘Embarrassed’ After Lakers’ 41-Point Blowout Loss Against Heat

Los Angeles Lakers coach J.J. Redick was candid in describing the team’s collective shame after a 41-point defeat to the Miami Heat on Wednesday. The Lakers’ offense performed poorly, but they were especially exposed on defense in a low-effort, systematic shutdown.

“There has to be some ownership,” Redick said after the game, a 134-93 Lakers loss. “When a group is not performing well… you can splinter and it’s easy to not want the ownership, particularly when it’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed, we’re all embarrassed. It’s not a game that I thought we had the right fight, the right professionalism.”

In many ways, Redick was as powerless as viewers at home. Los Angeles’ defense was so egregiously bad late in the game that several moments quickly went viral. With 9:20 remaining in the third quarter, Heat guard Duncan Robinson was so wide open under the basket that he paused and decided against taking the layup. Instead, he kicked the ball back out to Bam Adebayo, who swung it to Tyler Herro for a completely uncontested three-pointer. Lakers star Anthony Davis was dumbfounded looking around at his teammates after the play.

Later on in the quarter, the entire Lakers team walked back on defense after a missed jumper, allowing Terry Rozier to get behind them and put the Heat ahead 100-72 on an uncontested layup. It was an unmistakable sign of a team quitting.

The technical side of this blowout loss is largely irrelevant, as the Lakers demonstrated Wednesday night that their issues are basic. This isn’t the first time. The team is not competing as a unit and is consistently prone to collapsing after losing early initiatives. 

LeBron James finished the night with 29 points, but this team is supposed to be more than a stat-padding venture for the aging superstar. Despite having two future Hall-of-Famers on the roster, the Lakers are in ninth place in the Western Conference with a 12-10 record.