JJ Redick Applauds Lakers’ ‘Gameplan Discipline’ Vs. Grizzlies

The Los Angeles Lakers entered Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies as underdogs. Memphis was No. 2 in the Western Conference and was playing extremely good basketball, while the Lakers had slipped all the way to No. 10 with just three wins in their previous 11 games. But head coach JJ Redick seemed to have a good game plan, and the Lakers seemed to execute it well.

The Lakers were in control for most of the game, taking a double-digit lead with a big run in the second quarter and never relinquishing it. The Grizzlies won the third and fourth quarters, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the gap they created in the first half. Anthony Davis was dominant and while it was by no means a pretty game, the win was well deserved by LA

Redick was proud of the intensity with which the Lakers played on the defensive end and how they stuck to the game plan. Although the game had its ugly moments, there was plenty to like on the Lakers side.

“Against those guys, you have to play as hard as them at least to have a chance to win,” Redick said. “I thought our guys did that. I thought our game plan discipline was really good.

“You know, in terms of the physicality, this is not a comment negative or positive about the referee tonight, but it was a strange game just in terms of the way I feel the game has been refereed back through the start of the season .It was a strange game. It was a lot of fouls and some of the physicality they allowed.

“It just didn’t feel like we had it tonight, which potentially led to some of those turnovers, especially on the offensive end with some offensive mistakes and vice versa. But I thought we did a really good job of what we tried to do defensively. Especially Max Christie on-ball was fantastic tonight.”

Redick then focused specifically on the turnover, saying it was uncharacteristic of LA to have unforced errors like the one against the Grizzlies.

“I don’t like the turnover, which we have been pretty good at for most of the year. I think our two highest turnover games before this were against Minnesota, which is inexplicable, but you can imagine a scenario where you have a high turnover game against them. Memphis again plays very hard and has some upsets. But some of the turnovers were a little unforced.”

LA turned the ball over 23 times, which would be their second straight game where they turned it over 22 or more times. But Redick is right that it is very unusual for this Lakers team to do that. But that, combined with the defensive intensity and a great offensive game from Davis, allowed the Lakers to walk away with the win anyway.

Lakers’ Anthony Davis not worried about shoulder

A scary moment during the Lakers’ game Sunday night was when Anthony Davis appeared to injure his left shoulder reaching for a loose ball. He stayed on the floor, but then went to the locker room shortly after. He returned to the game later looking relatively unphased, describing the injury after the game as a stinger.

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