Only a few days in the past, Lakers head coach JJ Redick was praising place to begin guard D’Angelo Russell as one among his staff’s “vocal leaders,” however on Wednesday evening, Russell was simply making Redick really feel vocal.
Redick benched Russell for almost all of the second half of the Lakers’ 131-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies earlier than throwing him fully underneath the bus after the sport, calling out Russell for an absence of competitiveness and a focus to element.
“Simply degree of compete, consideration to element, a number of the issues we’ve have talked with him about for a few weeks,” Redick mentioned postgame when requested why he benched Russell. “And at instances, he’s been actually good with that stuff and different instances, it’s simply reverting again to sure habits.”
However whereas Redick mentioned the benching “wasn’t a punishment,” his response previous to it (as captured by the published) definitely made it clear which habits of Russell he wasn’t proud of. Home of Highlights discovered the second on the published proper earlier than Russell was sat down for good, exhibiting Redick go completely nuclear on his poor chair in response to the guard’s remaining try of the sport:
Redick is already fairly probably essentially the most emotionally expressive Lakers coach on the sidelines I’ve seen in my greater than 10 years overlaying the staff, however it is a lot even by his customary of funding.
It additionally fairly clearly wasn’t the one miscue that upset Redick. It was the straw that broke the camel’s again, however Russell’s lack of effort had been on full show for a couple of possessions, as captured by my buddy @pickuphoop on Twitter. Watch Russell within the clip under if you wish to see him take a couple of lazy photographs whereas barely paying consideration on protection earlier than making his coach go ballistic and take a timeout to bench him:
Russell has by no means been identified for his consideration to element on protection or shot choice, so if Redick is getting this irritated with these habits simply eight video games in, it’s both going to be an extended season for each of them… or maybe it is going to lastly be time for the Lakers to consummate their almost two-year quest to commerce Russell.
