The Los Angeles Lakers went into the road trip overflowing with good vibes after a perfect 3-0 start to the season.
They are going home with frustration boiling over after a 1-4 trip that pulled them down to .500.
Their 131-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, November 6, completely eroded whatever was left of the good vibes as rookie coach JJ Redick complained about his team’s lack of effort.
Starting point guard D’Angelo Russell epitomized the Lakers’ inconsistent effort during the trip which explained why Redick benched him in the fourth quarter.
“Just level of compete, attention to detail, some of the things we’ve talked with him about for a couple of weeks,” Redick told reporters when asked about Russell’s fourth-quarter benching. “And at times, he’s been really good with that stuff, and other times, it’s just reverting back to certain habits. It wasn’t like a punishment. I just felt like for us to have a chance to win this game, that was the route we wanted to take.”
Redick went to Gabe Vincent, whom he praised for his “fantastic” defense in the first half.
But Vincent wasn’t the answer either as the former Miami Heat guard also struggled with his shot, going 2-of-8 from the field.
Russell finished with 12 points in 22 minutes. He shot a measly 4-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-9 from the 3-point line.
After a listless six-minute stint in the third quarter, Russell watched from the bench the rest of the night.
Russell had only one good shooting night during their five-game road trip. Interestingly, it came during the Lakers’ lone win when they beat the Toronto Raptors 131-125 with Russell scoring a season-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and dishing out six assists.
D’Angelo Russell’s Declining Trade Value
Russell is only averaging 12.0 points on 37.5% overall shooting and 29.5% from the 3-point line through the Lakers’ first eight games.
His struggles are not helping the Lakers’ cause on the court and in the trade market, which is their only avenue to make changes on the roster.
The Lakers are linked to several potential trades with Russell as the outgoing player.
One of those reported Lakers’ potential trade targets is Utah Jazz’s young center Walker Kessler.
But Russell’s poor start is not helping his trade value based on the latest report from Sam Amick of The Athletic.
“While our Jovan Buha recently reported the Lakers have interest in Kessler, a Jazz source indicated the possible framework of a deal — D’Angelo Russell and multiple first-round picks — would not be of interest,” Amick wrote.
LeBron James’ Ageless Performance
It was their 39-year-old superstar LeBron James who played the hardest, according to Redick.
James led the shorthanded Lakers with 39 points, seven rebounds and six assists but did not muster enough support.
“It says a lot about him,” Redick said of James.
It also said a lot about this flawed Lakers team wanting in depth with limited flexibility to upgrade the roster.
The Lakers were already shorthanded to begin the game with Anthony Davis (heel) and Rui Hachimura (illness). Then they lost rookie Dalton Knecht with an apparent jaw injury.
Redick did not have an update after their second straight loss.
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JJ Redick Throws Lakers Benched Starter Under the Bus