JJ Redick Gives Brutally Honest Assessment of Lakers After 41-Point Loss to Heat

Los Angeles was routed by Miami on Wednesday night and has now lost six of its last eight games.
Redick's Lakers fell to the Miami Heat 134-93 on Wednesday.
Redick's Lakers fell to the Miami Heat 134-93 on Wednesday. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

After the Lakers' 134–93 loss to the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, head coach JJ Redick seemed to be at a loss for words—until he wasn't.

"There has to be some ownership," he said after a long pause when asked what his message is to his team after a loss like that. "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."

"There has to be some ownership on the court," Redick continued. "And I'll take all the ownership in the world. This is my team and I lead it. I'm embarrassed, but I can't physically get us organized. I can't physically be the basketball. I can't physically talk and call out reads and call out coverages. And by the way, I'm not blaming players. I own this... but we need some ownership on the court as well.

"There's not a sense from me that we're together right now."

The Lakers' loss, which was perfectly summed up by an embarrassing defensive possession in the third quarter, is their second in a row and their 10th of the 2024-25 season.

Having now lost six of their last eight, L.A. will look to buck up as they head to Atlanta on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. ET tipoff vs. the Hawks.


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Mike Kadlick
MIKE KADLICK

Mike Kadlick is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the New England Patriots for WEEI sports radio in Boston and continues to do so for CLNS Media. He has a master's in public relations from Boston University. Kadlick is also an avid runner and a proud lover of all things pizza.