Reality check – Probably the most accurate phrase to describe last night’s Lakers vs Bulls game. With their usual starters back in the lineup from injury, including LeBron James and Luka Doncic, Laker Nation was confident their team would have a field day at work and come out with an easy win. But the ninth-seeded Chicago squad pulled off a massive upset and blew out the home team by 31 points.
Visibly disappointed after the tough loss, Lakers coach JJ Redick was extremely critical of his team’s mentality during the postgame presser, “You can certainly get into the technicality of it and you can certainly get into the turnovers for us offensively and how that kind of destroyed our rhythm, but the disposition and the mentality. I don’t know if we assumed because we had everybody back that it was just gonna be like it was three weeks ago and that’s just not the way this works.”
Of course, when LeBron injured his groin on March 8, the Lakers had just come off an eight-game winning streak and jumped to the second seed. And JJ believes they might have made the mistake of assuming that their chemistry would instantly be back despite the lengthy hiatus that saw them go 3-4, including an embarrassing loss to the 13th-seed Brooklyn Nets. Redick added, “I think the guys know that and I am not saying that’s what they assumed. You’ll have to ask them that.”
Well, things were clearly not clicking for the Lakers as they committed 21 turnovers as opposed to Bulls’ 10. Moreover, their disappointing performance made the ninth-seeded Bulls look like legitimate contenders as several young stars had career nights. Josh Giddey stole the show with a 15-point triple-double, only two steals shy of a rare quadruple-double. Meanwhile, Matas Buzelis and Coby White combined for 67 points. On the other hand, LeBron looked like a shell of himself.
JJ Redick makes concerning LeBron James confession as Lakers prepare to “build from ground zero”
Surprisingly, a major reason behind the LA team’s loss was the underwhelming performance of LeBron. Visibly rusty after the seven-game hiatus, he scored only 17 points. He even missed three of his five free-throw attempts. Unfortunately, Rui Hachimura didn’t do any better. Returning after missing twelve straight games due to injury, the forward managed to score only 5 points.
Oct 28, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Clearly, something was wrong and Redick confirmed it in an honest postgame confession, “Yeah, both those guys were out of rhythm and out of sorts.” Following last night’s loss, it sure seems like the Lakers need to start fresh and a reporter even used the term “building from ground zero.” Turns out, Redick quite liked it, “Yeah, I think that’s a good way to look at it. The ground zero part. I think you have to again use the reference points that we’ve had, but then you have to this next 12 games, you gotta re-find your way.”
Hopefully, LeBron and Rui will be better prepared as the Lakers begin their four-game road trip on Monday against the Magic. Thoughts?
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