If your name is D’Angelo Russell, no doubt you’ve frustrated the hell out of every NBA coach you’ve had and JJ Redick is the latest victim.
DLo was benched for the last 20 minutes of the Lakers’ 131-114 loss to the Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Before then, you could see just how over it Redick was with Russell’s shot selection, evidenced in this viral video that’s being circulated today:
DLO really had JJ Redick reacting like this 😭😳 Holy shit pic.twitter.com/JhDqXIrDr9
— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) November 7, 2024
When asked why he decided to bench Russell, Redick didn’t hesitate with an answer.
“Level of compete,” Redick responded.
“Attention to detail. These are some of the things we’ve talked with him about a couple of weeks. At times he’s been really good with that stuff, and other times it’s just reverting back to certain habits.
“It wasn’t like a punishment, but for us to have a chance to win this game, that was the route we wanted to take. Gabe [Vincent] in the first half, especially defensively, was fantastic. I just wanted to see what that looked like.”
For many Lakers fans and NBA fans in general, this sequence of events and Redick’s comments won’t come as a shock.
LA have been trying to trade Russell for quite a while now, and it’s clear to see why.
He has bursts of impressive shot selection and plays, but will then choose some lazy, low-effort plays that hinder the team’s progress.
Through the purple and gold’s first eight games, DLo is averaging 12 points, 2.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and one steal on 37.5 percent shooting from the field and 29.2 percent from three, over 30 minutes of play per night.
The Lakers definitely need some help through the middle, and with Anthony Davis dealing with plantar facititus since the summer, maybe the team can include Russell in a trade for a big?
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