JJ Redick Says Lakers Need ‘More Pride Defensively’ After Shocking Loss to Pistons

Andrew PetersNovember 5, 2024

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It’s been a shaky start to the season for the Los Angeles Lakers, and their frustrations culminated in a 115-103 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday.

After the loss, head coach J.J. Redick said one issue for Los Angeles has been starting games poorly on the defensive end.

“We need to start the game with a little more pride defensively,” Redick said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

Through the first few weeks of the season, the Lakers have posted the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league at 117.8, only ahead of the Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Hornets. They also sit near the bottom of the league in opponent points in the paint, allowing 53.7 points in the paint per game.

Anthony Davis has been solid defensively, averaging two blocks per game, but the rest of the Lakers’ rim protectors have been subpar.

Los Angeles, who dropped to 4-3 with Monday’s loss, has in some ways been able to make up for its lackluster defense with good offense. The Lakers have the fifth-best offensive rating at 117.8.

That’s a major improvement from a season ago when Los Angeles was mediocre on offense under Darvin Ham and a result that was somewhat expected when an offensive-minded player such as Redick took over as head coach.

But good offense can’t entirely make up for bad defense, and that showed on Monday as Detroit scored the second-most points it has all season to improve to 3-5.

Luckily for the Lakers, they have 75 games left this season and ample time to figure things out on defense. Redick believes defensive improvement starts by playing with more “pride,” and he hopes to get that from his players moving forward.