Is the Lakers’ poor defense holding them back? | The Herd
Luka Dončić scored 35 points, and LeBron James scored 19 points. But it wasn’t enough for the Los Angeles Lakers to beat the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup. Colin Cowherd asks whether the Lakers’ lack of defense is holding them back.
The Los Angeles Lakers entered their second season under head coach JJ Redick and their first full season with star guard Luka Dončić, looking to improve after last year’s early playoff exit.
With just over one-third of the NBA season already completed, the Lakers have experienced some ups and downs this year. After getting off to a 15-4 start, the Lakers struggled with inconsistency. In Thursday’s primetime matchup, the team fell short of Redick’s expectations.
The Houston Rockets dominated the Lakers in a 119-96 win on Christmas Day. Redick sounded off after Los Angeles dropped a third straight game, questioning his team’s effort and professionalism.
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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick calls a play during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena Dec. 25, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
"We don't care enough right now," Redick said. "And that's the part that bothers you a lot. We don't care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don't care enough to be a professional."
Redick’s sharp critique comes amid the Lakers’ 4-6 mark in their last 10 games. Los Angeles failed to cut the second-half deficit against the Rockets to single digits, prompting Redick to call out his team’s lack of execution.
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"The two words of the day were effort and execution," Redick said. "And I feel like when we've done both of those things at a high level, we've been a good basketball team. When we haven't, we're a terrible basketball team. And tonight we were a terrible basketball team. And that started legitimately right away."
Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) moves to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić (77) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena Dec. 25, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
Redick also committed to making Saturday’s practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Sacramento Kings "uncomfortable" for the Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reacts to his team losing the lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves late in the fourth quarter during Game 4 of the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center in Minneapolis. (Matt Blewett/Imagn Images)
Dončić, whose 25 points led the team Thursday, shared similar sentiments to Redick’s and called for change.
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"I don't know what has to change, but definitely something needs to change," the five-time All-Star said. "Think we [were] blown out the last three games. It definitely looks, like, terrible. We just got to talk about it. Everybody got to talk about it. I know JJ said it's going to be uncomfortable [for everybody]. As they should be. Everybody has got to give better effort, starting with me."
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