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- Austin Reaves sits out the entire second half because of calf soreness in the Lakers’ 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets.
- Lakers coach JJ Redick calls out players for not caring enough: “Tonight we were a terrible basketball team.”
- Defensive issues once again prove costly for a Lakers team that is allowing more than 117 points per game.
The Lakers felt good about their starting lineup Thursday when Luka Doncic and Rui Hachimura returned from injury to round out their starting unit for only the seventh time this season.
But that good feeling didn’t last long against the Houston Rockets. Already down 10 points at halftime, the Lakers were forced to play the rest of the way without Austin Reaves, who missed the second half because of left calf soreness.
Coach JJ Redick didn’t have an update on Reaves’ injury after an uninspiring 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas at Crypto.com Arena, but he did have a lot to say about how “terrible” the Lakers have been during their three-game losing streak.
Austin Reaves returns from a calf injury, but the Lakers struggle mightily on defense, giving up 45 points in the third quarter of a 132-108 loss.
“The two words of the day were effort and execution,” Redick said. “And I feel like when we’ve done both of those things at a high level, we’ve been a good basketball team. When we haven’t, we’re a terrible basketball team. And tonight we were a terrible basketball team. And that started legitimately right away.”
The Lakers knew they would have to stop the Rockets on the boards, with Houston collecting an NBA-best 16.1 offensive rebounds per game. That mindset wasn’t enough to prevent the Rockets from getting second chances on the first two plays and finishing the game with 17 offensive rebounds. Overall they outrebounded the Lakers 48-25.
So why haven’t the Lakers (19-10) been able to fix their problems?
“Because we don’t care enough right now,” Redick said. “And that’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional. … I always say this about culture, I always say this about a good team being a functioning organism. … It can change like that. We don’t have it right now.”
Does Redick think he can coach “care” back into his players?
“No, I think guys will say they want to win,” Redick said. “The care factor to me is, ‘Do I care enough to actually do what I’m supposed to do, and just do it consistently?’ And that’s really what the championship habits are and that’s what we don’t have right now.”
Reaves missed three games because of the left calf strain before returning at Phoenix on Tuesday. He scored 17 points off the bench in the Lakers’ loss to the Suns. Reaves started against the Rockets and played 15 minutes in the first half, scoring 12 points on five-for-eight shooting.
Reaves is averaging 26.6 points per game, which ranked 11th in the NBA entering Friday.
Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer who returned after missing a game because of a lower left leg contusion, had 25 points and seven assists.
Doncic said Reaves wasn’t sure about the severity of his injury when the two spoke after the game.
“He’ll have an MRI, I think, tomorrow or past that,” Doncic said. “I know how it is to go to a calf injury. It’s not fun at all. Just be there to support him.”
LeBron James, who had 18 points, didn’t speak after the game and neither did Marcus Smart nor Hachimura, who was held scoreless over 28 minutes. It’s the second time he failed to score in a game this month. That didn’t happen once last season.
The Lakers have struggled on defense all season. They’re giving up 117.4 points per game, 18th most in the NBA entering Friday. They ranked 26th in opponent field-goal percentage (48.6) and last in opponent three-point shooting percentage (38.4).
New York snaps Milwaukee’s seven-game winning streak, ending the Knicks’ lengthy skid against the visiting Bucks with a Christmas Day win.
The Lakers planned to take Friday off and practice Saturday before hosting the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. Redick believes his players need to take more responsibility for their individual contributions if the Lakers are going to get out of their rut.
“It’s a matter of making the choice,” Redick said. “And too often we have guys that don’t want to make that choice. And it’s pretty consistent who those guys are.
“And so, Saturday’s practice — I told the guys — it’s going to be uncomfortable. The meeting is going to be uncomfortable. I’m not doing another 53 games like this.”
