LeBron James’ return didn’t do much to help the Los Angeles Lakers.
J.J. Redick’s team failed to keep up with the Chicago Bulls.
Josh Giddey almost posted a quadruple-double, leading his team with 15 points, 17 assists, 10 rebounds, and eight steals.
The Lakers allowed a whopping 146 points, and that included 44 points in the paint.
That’s why their coach put them on blast after the loss.
In his post-game conference, Reddick claimed that it was the worst their defense had looked all season (via Spectrum SportsNet):
“That was the worst our defense has looked, frankly, maybe all year, but certainly in the last three months,” he said.
JJ: "That was the worst our defense has looked frankly maybe all year, but certainly in the last three months." pic.twitter.com/AMyDvnQHDh
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) March 23, 2025
This was somewhat surprising.
The Bulls aren’t a contending team, and the Lakers had one of the best defenses in the league over the past couple of months.
Of course, this is the NBA, and anybody can beat anybody on any given day.
Nevertheless, it was still a head-scratching performance by the Lakers.
The race in the Western Conference is as tight as it’ll ever be, and the Lakers can’t afford to drop games against teams they should’ve beaten.
They’re currently 43-27 for the season, and they’re sitting on the No. 4 spot with 12 games left in the regular season.
They can still pass the Denver Nuggets at No. 3 or maybe even the Houston Rockets at No. 2.
On the flip side, they can also fall all the way to No. 6, 7, or 8 and be in the Play-In Tournament, so they can’t take their foot off the gas right now.
Redick’s team will have to regroup and get back to their best before their Monday night meeting with the Orlando Magic.
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