It is the James family that has garnered the most headlines through the NBA’s first three weeks, though the rookie head coach leading the 4-4 Los Angeles Lakers is making a strong case for second place.
J.J. Redick was in the limelight once again on Wednesday night, very obvious in his displeasure with point guard D’Angelo Russell and his Lakers, who were walloped by the Grizzlies, 131-114.
At about halfway through the third quarter, the Lakers’ head coach was seen repeatedly slamming his chair onto the court after one of Russell’s particularly dubious offensive decisions led to an easy transition-3 for Memphis.
With the ball in his hands and ten seconds still remaining on the shot clock, Russell faked a three-pointer from the corner and drew Grizzlies’ center Jay Huff from his feet.
The guard had beaten Huff, but instead of driving inside towards the basket, Russell dribbled the ball backwards through his legs and pulled up for a corner 3.
Huff had time to reset and went up for the block once again, this time, successfully deflecting the shot to a teammate. On the other end of the court, the big man finished off the play by draining a 23-foot three pointer to put Memphis up by double digits.
Russell was pulled from the game shortly thereafter and did not see the floor again.
Speaking with reporters after the game — a press conference that would end with the head coach dropping the mic and walking out — Redick voiced his irritation with the team’s transitional defense and general effort.
When asked specifically about Russell’s play, the head coach said, “At times, he’s been really good with [his level of compete and attention to details], at other times [he’s] just reverting back to certain habits.”
Redick tried to downplay the benching, saying, “It wasn’t like a punishment— it just felt like, for us to have a chance to win this game, that was the route we wanted to take.”
Across a season-low 22 minutes of game action, Russell finished with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor. He converted two of nine attempts from beyond the arc.
Now in his second full season with the Lakers’, and though the sample size is small, nearly all of the All-Star’s statistics are down from a year ago: minutes played, shot attempts, field goal percentage, rebounds, assists, steals and points.
Talent certainly isn’t the issue with Russell, perennially one of the best shooters in the league.
The issue, Redick said after the Lakers lost — their fourth defeat in five games — is more troubling than that.
“You have a choice every night for how you play, and it has nothing to do with making shots,” Redick said.
