Redick Analyzes Why They Lost: Played Too Loosely in the Second Quarter, Didn’t Call a Timeout When KD Was on Fire in the Final Quarter

October 29 news, the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their first loss of the new season with a 105-109 defeat to the Phoenix Suns. After the game, the entire Lakers team mentioned their performance in the second quarter when discussing the loss.

Lakers head coach Redick stated: “If we really have to point out what went wrong, it might be my fault. We shouldn’t have scored only 14 points in the second quarter; that’s my responsibility. Part of the reason lies with me; I need to ensure our offense runs smoothly. I felt that period was a bit loose and we were held back. We discussed at halftime that to become a high-level offensive team, we need more player movement and ball distribution. They took us away from our initial game plan with screens and double teams, but we played well in the second half. Our execution in the second half was excellent; it was just that the second quarter really hurt us.”

After the game, Anthony Davis also mentioned the team’s performance in that quarter, saying, “Our coach is very upset about this… I think it’s all of our responsibilities, not just his. We only scored 14 points in the second quarter… We couldn’t score in the second quarter. We had many turnovers, and shooting was difficult. We can’t score only 14 points in a quarter, so as a team, we should do better.”

So, what exactly happened in the second quarter? Let’s look at the data. In that quarter, the Lakers shot 6 for 22, with 4 turnovers. James was 0 for 4, and Hachimura was 2 for 6. The team only had 7 rebounds, while the Suns had 17 in that quarter. Redick also discussed the team’s overall performance and other issues.

“We’ve said we want to be a process-oriented team. I like our process today. I liked how we started the game. We talked about having a good start, just like they did in Los Angeles, and we did. I liked our level of competition and defensive competitiveness. They put us in tough spots multiple times; they have elite individual shooting abilities. I need to watch it again, but I feel that to some extent, we lost to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker’s ability to make shots in tough moments. I think our execution in key moments was excellent. If I have to nitpick, it might be me. I probably should have called a timeout a play or two earlier against KD. But I like the group of players we put on the court defensively; I trust them.”