SPORT NEWS: JJ Redick expresses frustration with Lakers’ collapse against Nuggets, calls out ‘joystick’ play. .giang

JJ Redick didn’t hold back on his assessment of the Los Angeles Lakers’ third quarter collapse against the Denver Nuggets in their 127-102 loss.

Heading into the break, the Lakers looked to be in control of their matchup against the Nuggets, outscoring Denver by 10 points to carry a 63-57 lead after the first 24 minutes. However, the third quarter was a completely different story for both Denver and Los Angeles.

Simply put, the Lakers came out extremely flat, with the Nuggets outscoring Los Angeles by 22 points to turn a six-point deficit into a 16-point lead, 94-78, heading into the fourth quarter. From their, the Nuggets were firmly in driver’s seat, pushing back the Lakers at every turn.

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Speaking to reporters Monday, Redick clarified his thoughts on why the Lakers seemingly just couldn’t match the Nuggets energy, despite being rivals the last few seasons. “We just stopped playing,” Redick said bluntly.

When asked what he or the coaching staff could do to help stem the wave of momentum Denver had, the Lakers head coach admitted that while he could all that needed to be said in the huddle, it ultimately is up to the players to the respond to the message the coaching staff is laying out.

“We can all, I think, be better,” he continued. “The organization has to be there. Really, there’s only so much we can do. We can try to joystick it as much as possible. But you still have to, like, I can joystick it as much as I want. But if you’re not competing and you’re not playing and you’re just not participating in the game, there’s not a whole lot I can do.”

Redick also claimed that the Lakers’ lack of effort was an “aberration,” believing his team had more fight than it actually showed against the Nuggets, especially as Los Angeles just wrapped up a six-game winning streak. “We’ve been punching them out so much in games,” the 40-year-old head coach continued.

“We’ve been down and came back. We’ve started slow. We’ve started strong. We’ve had adversity in nearly every game. To me, that stretch of the third quarter was an aberration. That’s not who we are. And I reiterated that to the team this morning. We showed them who we are on tape.

“It’s not like a thing that weighed on me much yesterday. It was more about how do we focus on today. And this week is a big week for us. Not that we’re overlooking it and not holding people accountable. But it’s an aberration to me. That’s not who we are.”

After the game, Lakers star LeBron James elected not to speak to the media. Though Los Angeles did not give an explanation as to why James did not speak to the media, it could do with his self-imposed exile from social media, doing away with the various platforms for the foreseeable future.

Mired in a two-game losing streak, the Lakers will face the Phoenix Suns, with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal set to return, for the NBA Cup clash.