The idea, JJ Redick said before the game, would be for the Lakers to return to the plan he established when he became the team’s head coach. That plan, to take the long view and drive the results process, helped the team win 10 of its first 14 games.
“We are all competitive. I am competitive. We have to work on the process and do things the right way and build that consistency,” he said ahead of the game on Tuesday night. “I believe that if our group does that, we will get good results and results we can live with.”
But after two days of harping on the need to be physical, two days after the Lakers were badly beaten by a rival in the third quarter, where, according to their own coach, they “stopped playing,” they were again impervious to defense.
Facing a powerful team in Phoenix, a team the Lakers compete with both in the West and in their NBA Cup bracket, the Lakers were once again heavily outclassed in the second half, losing 127-100 to the Suns.
They have lost three games in a row.
The Lakers play their final group game in the NBA Cup at home against Oklahoma City on Friday and need a win to have a chance to advance to the knockout stages due to the points differential.
Just like in their loss to Denver, the Lakers were run off the floor, their body language as awful as their performance. After Denver beat them 37-15 in the third Saturday, the Lakers lost the third to the Suns 36-18, their spirit broken again.
Read more: Lakers are looking to ramp up defense by returning to physical play
The fight the Lakers lacked in the second half came early, even after Kevin Durant, returning from more than two weeks of injury, opened the game with a three. But the focus was not there often enough and for long enough.
They botched a coverage late in the first quarter to give Phoenix an open three. They allowed an uncontested layup at the end of the third.
The litany of Lakers defensive issues — transition issues, keeping teams off the glass, playing with force at the rim — created toothlessness at the rim as the Suns routinely went to the basket while the Lakers stood by and watched.
The game only got worse from there, with Redick pulling the starters midway through the fourth. And just like that, center Jaxson Hayes, back in the lineup after missing two weeks with an ankle injury, appeared to aggravate the problem again late before limping to the locker room.
The Lakers have a quick turnaround and will play the Spurs on Wednesday in San Antonio.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
