Rivalry games tend to reveal exactly where a team stands, and Sunday night provided an uncomfortable snapshot for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Despite the lopsided score, head coach JJ Redick did not point to defense as the primary issue. Instead, he delivered a blunt assessment of his team’s performance on the other end of the floor.
“I think going against this team and their offense. Made the subs at 3:22 in the fourth quarter,” Redick said. “They’ve got 105 points and they’re 12-for-32 from three, and they’re shooting 47%. We did a good job limiting their fast break points [and] did a good job limiting their points in the paint under 50. So, we did enough defensively. We were just awful offensively tonight.”
Boston took control after a competitive opening quarter, steadily pulling away as the Lakers struggled to generate clean looks.
Redick explained that Los Angeles repeatedly failed to apply pressure where it mattered most.
“Yeah, there were opportunities, I think, to put more pressure on the rim,” he added. “Particularly in the first half. We took 11 non-paint twos. We were 13-for-29 on paint twos, non-rim paint twos. That’s not normally what we shoot. And then [we] got some good looks from three; we didn’t knock them down. So just, you gotta make shots in this league. [We] took care of the basketball.
“Now the one thing, I think a lot of times when teams are on that deeper draw versus all our guys that play pick-and-roll, it kind of puts you a little bit in a bind of not having the obvious choice to pass, if that makes sense. So, we’ve just gotta do a better job of just, finding guys and moving the ball.”
The offensive struggles extended to the Lakers’ stars. Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves combined to shoot 22-53 from the field, while the supporting cast offered little relief. Boston’s defense forced tough decisions and punished stagnant possessions.
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