The D'Angelo Russell play that earned benching by JJ Redick
Today at 09:07 PM
JJ Redick didn’t mince words about benching D’Angelo Russell during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 131-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. Russell had an underwhelming performance, showing little engagement on both offense and defense. Redick was quick to hold him accountable for the lack of effort.
Consequently, Russell logged just 22 minutes, exiting the game with 5:54 remaining in the third quarter. He finished with 12 points and three assists on 4-of-12 shooting, including 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Russell took questionable shots and struggled defensively in transition, leading Redick to cut his playing time.
This was the sequence that got D'Angelo Russell benched for the remainder of the game
Did JJ Redick overreact?
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) November 7, 2024
The Lakers guard had a lackluster performance, appearing disengaged throughout the game. After consecutive blunders in the third quarter, head coach JJ Redick opted to bench him in favor of Gabe Vincent for the remainder of the game.
JJ Redick noting D’Angelo Russell’s “level of compete”
“Just a level of compete, attention to detail, some of the things we’ve talked with him about for a couple of weeks,” said JJ Redick.
Redick and the coaching staff seem aware of Russell’s inconsistencies and are working to address them, but his performance against Memphis raised concerns, especially given the role they needed him to fill. Russell’s tendency to coast on both ends of the court has been a recurring issue, and his lack of urgency ultimately hurt the Lakers.
"At times he's been really good with that stuff, other times it's just reverting to certain habits. It wasn't like a punishment, I just felt like for us to have a chance to win this game, that was the route we wanted to take. Gabe in the first half, especially defensively, was fantastic. I just wanted to see what that looked like," said the Lakers head coach.
"Again, he had some good looks, Dalton had some good looks, I thought Austin had some great looks. Didn't go down and sometimes those misses can be momentum shifting, especially when they're generating wide open corner 3s," Redick continued.
Russell needing to step up in the absence of Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura
With Rui Hachimura and Anthony Davis out, Russell was expected to rise to the occasion, especially considering their combined 46 points per game were missing. LeBron James delivered a remarkable 39 points, but had Russell performed better, the Lakers might have been able to secure a win over the Grizzlies.
Considering the Lakers’ bench provides little offensive support, relying on other players for production highlights the gravity of Russell’s struggles.
Russell has faced adversity during his time with the Lakers, enduring trade rumors and coaching tension. Despite that, it's certain that he will bounce back.
However, with Russell in the final year of his contract and struggling to meet expectations while the Lakers face challenges he can’t address, this is definitely a situation to watch closely.
Even though it’s early in the season, the Lakers can’t afford to take games for granted with the Western Conference being as competitive as ever. It's crucial that Russell hears Redick's message and shows a strong response when the Lakers face off against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
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