Advertisement

JJ Redick challenges Lakers’ leadership, and they respond by defeating the Heat

LeBron James drives to the basket against Heat forward Duncan Robinson in the first half.
(Kevork Djansezian / Associated Press)

JJ Redick did it Wednesday morning, reminding his Lakers of the importance of connectivity and communication.

He told them again at the arena, his team about to take on the Miami Heat and their streaking scorer Tyler Herro, who is in the middle of a dominant run.

And it just didn’t take.

Herro, just like he did when the Heat blew out the Lakers in Miami, was too open, too often, ripping shot after shot through the net — the kind of stretch that had his coach recently comparing him to Stephen Curry. The Lakers were lost on defense. It made them lifeless on offense.

Advertisement

By halftime, they were down big.

The NBA adjusted six games on the Lakers’ and Clippers’ schedules to accommodate games postponed because of wildfires in Los Angeles County.

So, for at least the third time Wednesday, Redick told his players what he needed from them. They had to talk on defense. They had to defend together. And if they didn’t, they were almost certain to face their fourth loss in a row.

“There was nothing we changed schematically,” he said. “I implored our team to talk more and play harder.”

And, finally, it sunk in.

“It was just the message we needed,” guard Austin Reaves said. “And I think most importantly, it got through to the group.”

Advertisement

The Lakers swarmed on defense, diving for loose balls and forcing turnovers. They shared the ball on offense against Miami’s zone, dissecting it with precision cutting and zipped passes. And when it was time to close out the Heat, the Lakers leaned on LeBron James to put the finishing touches on a 117-108 win, their first since Jan. 3.

As the team found itself in the third quarter, Anthony Davis dove for a loose ball. Reaves triggered a fast break. Rui Hachimura attacked the paint, and James ended up with a wide-open three — the kind of play that showed Redick that all the emphasizing he’d done throughout the day had taken hold.

“I challenged the team across the board today in our meeting about leadership,” he said. “And leadership — people think about talking, obviously being vocal, talking in the huddles, whatever it may be. That certainly is a form of leadership. But leadership takes many forms. And I think talk is a requirement of the job as a basketball player. Talk is a requirement of the job.

Advertisement

“But leadership can be playing hard defensively. Leadership can be taking a charge. Leadership can be taking care of the basketball. It’s all about leadership and ownership for what you are supposed to do. That’s your job. That’s leadership to me. And that’s a great example to me of leadership from AD — being the first to the floor in a tight game. It’s a momentum-swinging play for us.”

The Lakers outscored Miami 63-42 in the second half after being blitzed by San Antonio in the third and fourth quarters Monday night.

Wednesday’s win in a lot of ways was a sign of growth, the Lakers taking accountability for the things they hadn’t been doing, getting balanced production from multiple players and winning because they didn’t ignore the little things.

Hachimura led the Lakers with 23 points. James, who scored seven straight points down the stretch, had 22 and nine assists. Davis finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

Max Christie scored 16 and Reaves had 14 points, 14 assists and three steals.

LeBron James told Jason and Travis Kelce that outside of his four NBA titles, playing with son Bronny on the Lakers is ‘probably the No. 1 accomplishment.’

“No matter if we’re up or we’re down, we can’t be front-runners,” Davis said. “And when we’re up, just that’s when we’re connected. Even when we’re down, that’s when we have to be the most connected. I think tonight, even in that second quarter, when they went on that run, we were still able to be connected. We came into halftime, made adjustments, stayed together and were able to go out in the second half and get stops.”

Gabe Vincent sparked the Lakers with 14 points off the bench against his former team, and Jaxson Hayes had his best game since returning from an ankle injury on Jan. 2.

Advertisement

And while Redick’s message might’ve landed Wednesday, it was the players’ execution against the Heat that got the Lakers (21-17) a win they badly needed.

“There’s power with the group and there’s power in being connected,” Redick said. “And there’s a lot of things that go wrong in every single basketball game, and you have to stay connected. And I thought we did a fantastic job of that tonight.

“Our coaching staff, all of them, they did a great job. But it was our players tonight. Like, I gotta give them credit. They stayed the course. They stayed connected. They showed resolve. It was them tonight.”

Advertisement
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
soxtry.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
maw-pr.com
zaaksen.com
ypxsptbfd7.com
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
onlinenewsofindia.com
worldgraphic-team.com
bnsrz.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
webmanicura.com
osostore.com
softsmob.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
odskc.com
inzziln.info
leaiiln.info
cq-oa.com
dqtianshun.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
bartoysdirect.com
taquerialoscompadresdc.com
aaoodln.info
amcckln.info
drvrnln.info
dwabmln.info
fcsjoln.info
hlonxln.info
kcmeiln.info
kplrrln.info
fatcatoons.com
91guoys.com
signupforfreehosting.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
topsedu.xyz
xmxm7.com
x332.xyz
sportstrainingblog.com
autopartspares.com
readguy.net
soniasegreto.com
bobbygdavis.com
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
qazwsxedcokmijn.com
parabis.net
terriesandelin.com
luxuryhomme.com
studyexpanse.com
ronoom.com
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
snn01.com
hope-kelley.com
bancodeprofissionais.com
zjccp99.com
liturgycreator.com
weedsmj.com
majorelenco.com
colcollect.com
androidnews-jp.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
nova-click.com
abeautifulcrazylife.com
diggmobile.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
sizam-design.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
bamthemes.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com
avgo.top