Peter Okereke
Los Angeles Lakers head coach, JJ Redick, gave a brutally honest assessment of his team’s play during their Game 5 loss against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
The Purple and Gold didn’t match up to Houston’s energy on the night and were out hustled on the court, eventually succumbing to a 99-93 loss in what was their second chance to close out the series.
After the game, a visibly disappointed Redick sat on the podium to take questions from the media. The Lakers’ head coach then highlighted two main reasons behind the loss, calling out his players for poor shooting and reckless turnovers.
“We just couldn’t make shots. Missed some layups. Certainly had some good looks from three that didn’t go down,” Redick said.
“We’ll take a look at the whole process and take a look at the substitution patterns and figure out where we can be better in game six.”
The Lakers shot 7 of 27 from beyond the arc, losing the 3-point battle by 21 points to the Rockets, who made 14 threes on 40 attempts.
Indeed, turnovers have been a problem for the Lakers right through this series, and they once again haunted the Lakers during the matchup, an issue that JJ Redick also admitted. The Purple and Gold committed 15 turnovers, with the Rockets scoring 18 points of those.
Shaquille O’Neal Roasts Lakers After Game 5 Loss
Four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal showed no mercy to the Lakers after their pathetic performance at home in Game 5. The Lakers legend called out the players for relying on hero ball while making his disappointment in the team crystal clear.
“I hate watching the Lakers play sometimes, because, towards the end, they start playing hero ball,” Shaq said on “Inside The NBA”.
“The crowd was flat, they played flat, no intensity, no focus. I’m glad the Rockets beat them… LeBron knows what needs to be done to win a championship. I’m super disappointed in the Lakers.”
Game 6 is set to be held in Houston on Friday. The Lakers need to play out of their skin and throw their best forward at the Houston Rockets to make sure there is no Game 7 back in LA.
