Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Reddick says his players must take ownership after Wednesday night’s heavy loss to the Miami Heat, Afrosport reports.
The Lakers were beaten 134-93 at the Kaseya Centre, marking only the 11th time in franchise history that they’ve lost by more than 40 points.
Final. pic.twitter.com/AAUntiUj2T
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 5, 2024
The 17-time champions also suffered a 109-80 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves two days ago, the worst two-game stretch in Lakers history.
Reddick’s team started the season 10-4 but have gone 2-6 since to occupy ninth position in the Western Conference Standings, and the first-year coach says he is embarrassed with his Lakers’ current form.
“There has to be some ownership on the court,” Reddick said. “And I’ll take all the ownership in the world. This is my team, and I lead it.
“I’m embarrassed, but I can’t physically get us organised. I can’t physically be the basketball. I can’t physically talk and call out reads and call out coverages.
“And by the way, I’m not blaming players. I own this… but we need some ownership on the court as well. There’s not a sense from me that we’re together right now.”
The Lakers’ 70-point losing margin is their all-time two-game low, surpassing the 67-point margin of defeat they suffered across two games in the 2016-17 season.
LeBron James ended the loss to Miami with a team-high 29 points, adding five rebounds and eight assists. Rui Hachimura finished with 14 points and D’Angelo Russell added 12 points.
The Lakers head to the Hawks on Friday night, with the hopes of overturning their current two-game losing run.
