The Los Angeles Lakers got humiliated by the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies blew out JJ Redick and company in the second half on the way to a dominant 131-114 win.
Lakers point guard D’Angelo Russell only played 22 minutes in the loss, which is a season low for the veteran.
Russell found himself on the bench for the final 17 minutes of the game, and Redick wasn’t shy about his displeasure with Russell’s effort after the game, according to Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation.
“Level of compete,” Redick said about why Russell’s playing time was cut, per Starkand. “Attention to detail. Some of the things we’ve talked with him about a couple of weeks. At times he’s been really good, other times it’s just reverting to certain habits. It wasn’t like a punishment, but for us to have a chance to win this game, that was the route we wanted to take. Gabe in the first half, especially defensively, was fantastic. I just wanted to see what that looked like.”
Russell couldn’t find a groove offensively in this one, as he finished with just 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting and 2-for-9 from three-point range.
Gabe Vincent and Cam Reddish got a lot of Russell’s minutes in the second half when Redick left him on the bench.
Outside of LeBron James, the Lakers really struggled on both ends without Anthony Davis.
The Grizzlies got whatever they wanted on offense in this one and easily ran away from the Lakers as the game went on. Ja Morant had something to prove and controlled the game before leaving with a hamstring injury in the third quarter.
This loss drops the Lakers to 4-4 on the season, and the honeymoon phase with Redick as the new head coach is quickly over.
The offensive process is much better under Redick than it has been in the past, but the Lakers still have shooting problems due to their personnel, and their defense suffers without Davis on the floor.
Thankfully for the Lakers, they won’t have to wait long for a chance at revenge. After games against the 76ers and Raptors, Redick and company will see the Grizzlies again in exactly one week’s time on Nov. 13 in Los Angeles.
