Lakers News: Austin Reaves Reacts to JJ Redick Taking Blame for Suns Loss

Redick accepted accountability for the loss.

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers lost their first game under new head coach JJ Redick on Monday, when they fell 109-105 to the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers had won their first three games of the season under Redick, but came up short in their first road game of the season at Phoenix.

The Lakers outscored the Suns 34-25 in the first quarter, and held a large lead early in the game. Los Angeles let the Suns back into the game, and would go on to lose to the Suns, dropping the team to 3-1 on the year.

Redick took full responsibility for the loss, and a disappointing 14-point second quarter that ultimately kept the Lakers from prevailing.

“If there’s one thing to nitpick, it’s probably me," Redick said after the loss. "I probably should have gone to Fire a possession or two earlier against KD. But I liked that group that we had out there defensively. I trust those guys. Then the other thing I would say is we should never have a 14-point quarter. That’s on me as well. Part of that is me. I got to make sure we’re running good offense. I felt like it was a little random, got stalled out. We talked about it at halftime, for us to be a high level offense, we got to move bodies and move the ball … we executed great in that second half. It was just that second quarter that really hurt us.”

The accountability from Redick for the loss resonated with his team.

"That's what a good leader looks like," Lakers guard Austin Reaves said after the game. "He said what he had to say when we were walking out, let out a little F word, which just shows how much cares. His passion is on another level. You can tell every single second of every day that he's locked in to the betterment of our group."

Redick of course was naturally embraced by his team when they won their first three games of the season, but his response in losses will make a huge difference in how the team responds to his leadership. Clearly, his response after their first loss was received well by his players.

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