The Los Angeles Lakers got some key pieces back on Saturday night for their clash with the Chicago Bulls, chief among them being the legendary LeBron James. That didn't prevent them from suffering a shocking 146-115 loss to the Bulls, though, and in the wake of this blowout loss, JJ Redick made it clear that he was not impressed with his team's defensive effort.
After scoring 65 points in the first half, Chicago caught fire from behind the arc in the second half, which led to 39 points in the third quarter and 42 points in the fourth quarter. While there are games where your opponent is simply going to make shots, Redick believed that Los Angeles hurt themselves by not doing enough to prevent the Bulls from getting scorching hot on offense.
“The disposition and the mentality, I don't know if we assumed because we had everybody back that it was just gonna be like it was three weeks ago, and that's just not the way this works … That was the worst our defense has looked frankly maybe all year, but certainly in the last three months,” Redick said after the game.
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JJ Redick looking to get Lakers going amid return to health
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick on the sidelines against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
After making their way through a grueling stretch of their schedule that saw them playing six games over eight days, the Lakers are beginning to get some key pieces back for their final stretch run. Of course, it will take some time for everyone to assimilate and get back in rhythm, which Redick acknowledged, but that's no excuse for the lack of defensive effort that his team put on display against the Bulls.
The good news is that this is only one game, and that the Lakers still hold onto the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference for the time being with their 43-27 record. Redick will have a chance to get his team back on track when they return to action against the Orlando Magic on Monday night.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Owen Crisafulli is a Senior Editor and NFL Lead at ClutchPoints, who also covers the NBA and MLB. He recently received his Masters in Business Administration from Nichols College. Previously, he obtained his Bachelor's degree in Sport Management, ran his own website, and had bylines at FanSided and the Basketball Network.