Coach JJ Redick and the Los Angeles Lakers bounced back from a three-game skid on Sunday night, earning a 125-101 victory against the Sacramento Kings.
The Lakers spent the weekend looking to regroup following a three-game losing streak. Los Angeles suffered three blowout losses, including a 119-96 loss on Christmas Day against Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets at home.
Redick indicated after the loss on Christmas that an “uncomfortable” meeting was expected.
‘We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary,” Redick said on Friday, Dec. 26. “We don’t care enough to be a professional.’
The Lakers had a team meeting on Saturday, Dec. 27, to work through some of the miscommunication and lack of effort from members of the team.
Redick spoke further about the results of the meeting and a longer-than-usual practice on Saturday.
‘We had a great meeting as a staff this morning,’ Redick told reporters on Saturday. ‘Came in super early and we met with the players, and it was very positive and it was also listening. It was also for our staff, myself, to listen to the players and what they need.’
There also appeared to be a level of frustration with the recent lack of success. LeBron James, Marcus Smart and Rui Hachimura all declined to comment on Friday after the loss to the Rockets, according to ESPN.
‘We just talked about everybody (players, coaches), we just got to kind of tighten up,’ Hachimura said about the meeting. ‘We had a good stretch in the beginning, and now we kind of, I don’t know, we relaxed. Or we kind of got tired of winning. But we just stopped doing what we’re supposed to do.’
While Hachimura did speak with reporters the following day, James and Smart declined once again.
The Lakers were 10-4 to start the season before James’ season debut on Nov. 18. James missed the first 14 games of the season due to a sciatica injury.
The team managed to continue their success upon the return of the 23-year veteran, winning the first four games with James to start his season. Los Angeles has compiled an 8-5 record since James’ return.
James was one of several players who missed games during the season due to injury. Austin Reaves became the latest player expected to miss time after suffering an injury on Christmas Day. Reaves is likely to miss at least a month of action.
Redick indicated ahead of Sunday’s game against the Sacramento Kings that the Lakers would see changes in the lineup. He didn’t initially share the lineup during the pregame media availability, but mentioned that Nick Smith Jr. would see an increase in consistent minutes within the rotation off the bench with both Reaves and Gabe Vincent out.
Smart was the notable addition to the lineup, replacing Reaves in the starting lineup. Smart went scoreless in 20 minutes of play but produced three defesnive rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Smith had 21 points and three rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench, which was second most behind Jake LaRavia.
Lakers results in last 11 games
The Lakers have gone 5-6 since Dec. 1.
Dec. 1: Loss, Suns 125, Lakers 108
Dec. 4: Win, Lakers 123, Raptors 120
Dec. 5: Loss, Celtics 126, Lakers 105
Dec. 7: Win, Lakers 112, 76ers 108
Dec. 10: Loss, Spurs 132, Lakers 119
Dec. 14: Win, Lakers 116, Suns 114
Dec. 18: Win, Lakers 143, Jazz 135
Dec. 20: Loss, Clippers 103, Lakers 88
Dec. 23: Loss, Suns 132, Lakers 108
Dec 25: Loss, Rockets 119, Lakers 96
Dec. 28: Win, Lakers 125, Kings 101
Lakers’ upcoming schedule
Dec. 30: vs. Detroit Pistons
Jan. 2: vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Jan. 4: vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Jan 6: at New Orleans Pelicans
Jan. 7: at San Antonio Spurs
Jan. 9: Milwaukee Bucks
Jan. 12: at Sacramento Kings
Jan 13: vs. Atlanta Hawks
Jan. 15: vs. Charlotte Hornets