Lakers' JJ Redick Admits Team Has No Identity — Shocking Slump
JJ Redick didn’t sugarcoat it after a humbling 128-106 loss to the Detroit Pistons: he’s still unsure what this Lakers team even is. The defeat — part of a stretch in which Los Angeles has lost four of five — exposed persistent problems on both ends. Detroit dominated the box score, the Lakers’ defense looked porous, and 15 turnovers compounded the blowout. Redick acknowledged the difficulty of building a consistent identity amid those struggles, calling the task “difficult” and admitting the staff and players are still trying to figure it out.
The loss highlighted ongoing roster instability and injuries that have disrupted continuity all season. Los Angeles has navigated spells without Marcus Smart, Gabe Vincent, Deandre Ayton, and now faces an extended absence from Austin Reaves. Redick has shuffled lineups repeatedly — the Detroit game marked his 16th different starting group — and experimented with rotations, including unusual in-game moves earlier in the week when he sat Luka Dončić before a quarter ended against Sacramento. Those adjustments have produced mixed results: the team is 20-10 overall, but recent performances have raised real questions about cohesion and defensive identity.
Tension has increased since Christmas, when the Lakers lost to the Kevin Durant-led Houston Rockets and Redick suggested the club had lost some “championship habits.” He also said the offense hasn’t been as organized “since we’ve gotten Bron back,” a comment that fueled debate among fans and amplified scrutiny of how coaching, star availability, and injuries are interacting. Redick referenced a meeting he had with Phil Jackson last year — recalling Jackson saying he usually knew his team’s identity by Thanksgiving — to underline how unusual the current uncertainty feels. For Lakers fans, the discrepancy between early-season promise and present inconsistency is alarming: by Thanksgiving the team had shown flashes of strong play and contention, but those rhythms haven’t held.
Finding a sustainable identity will be essential if this roster is to convert talent into consistent results. Redick says the staff and players are intent on playing the right way, but turnover-heavy losses and defensive lapses make that intent insufficient so far. With lineup flows and rotations continuing to change, the Lakers face a critical stretch to stabilize personnel, tighten defensive effort, and prove whether their 20-10 record reflects a team that can contend or one still searching for itself. Until those answers arrive, the Lakers’ season will have an uneasy, make-or-break feeling around it.
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