Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick didn’t mince words for his team’s issues coming out of halftime in their 119-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Redick told reporters after the game that they are a “terrible third-quarter team,” calling it an issue that dates back to last season and they need to “rethink some things” about their approach to make sure it doesn’t keep happening.
The Lakers trailed by one going into halftime before allowing the Warriors to open the third quarter on a 23-7 run that extended their lead to 17 points. Golden State put up 35 total points in the period, its highest scoring output in a single quarter in the game.
The Lakers actually finished with the seventh-best third quarter defense by points allowed per game last season, but they had some blunders along the way.
For instance, they allowed 32 points in the third quarter in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a game the Lakers led 58-54 at halftime. They went on to lose 116-104.
One potentially alarming stat from Tuesday’s game is the plus-minus in the third quarter for the Lakers’ starting unit. All five players were at least minus-10, with Gabe Vincent at minus-16 in just over six minutes.
DonÄić was the only Lakers starter who played the entire third quarter. The Warriors’ 35-point outburst included only four points from Stephen Curry. Jonathan Kuminga was tremendous with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
The primary concern for the Lakers coming into this season, before it was revealed LeBron James would miss time with a sciatica injury, was how their defense would hold up.
Los Angeles’ defense actually held up well down the stretch last season, but it seemed like an odd outlier given that players like DonÄić and Austin Reaves don’t have stellar reputations on that end of the floor.
Redick did show the ability to coach around those limitations during the 2024-25 season. He will have to find a way to do it again as the Lakers move forward, particularly while they are without James to raise the ceiling for their offense.
The Lakers will look to rebound on Friday when they host the Timberwolves in a rematch of their playoff series that Minnesota won in five games.
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