Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is dealing with a frustrating problem. His players aren’t running the plays he’s calling. After recently calling out an unnamed player for not knowing the team’s defense, Redick now says the offense is falling apart because players aren’t focusing enough.
The Lakers have lost four of their last six games. They did beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-121 on Friday and will face them again on Sunday. But, according to Clutch Points, Redick isn’t happy with how his team is performing on offense.
Redick told reporters that plays aren’t being run correctly or aren’t being run at all. He said this problem keeps happening over and over. When asked what’s causing it, Redick had a simple answer: the holidays. “I don’t know what else to do. It’s just like that’s happening so consistently right now,” Redick said. “I chalk it up to the holidays.”
The holidays are hurting the Lakers’ focus on offense
In Friday’s win, Austin Reaves scored 34 points and added eight assists. LeBron James put up 31 points and six assists. The two stars did enough to give the Lakers a seven-point win, but the team still needs to fix its offensive problems.
One bright spot was a play between Reaves and James in the first half. Reaves threw a half-court pass that James caught and finished. After the game, James praised Reaves and compared him to a football quarterback.
Across the league, other NFL legends have been making headlines, including a Patriots icon sharing Super Bowl predictions that caught fans off guard.”One of the best quarterbacks and I’m a pretty good receiver, when it comes to that,” James said. “It’s my job to not allow the defense to break that up or steal the ball. And he put it right on target, and made it a lot easier for me.”
The Lakers will try to beat the Grizzlies again on Sunday. But they’ll need better focus and execution if they want to win consistently. Redick hopes his players will get back on track once the holiday distractions are over. Meanwhile, college football celebrations have also been grabbing attention, with Michael Irvin’s wild victory celebration going viral after Miami’s surprise win.
Published: Jan 4, 2026 01:45 pm