An undated photo of Los Angeles Lakers’ coach JJ Redick. — Reuters
Head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, JJ Redick, has opened up about the problem he is facing while coaching, which is not related to himself, his players’ ability, or the teams they face.
Redick has said that he has failed to make his players able to shut out the outside noise and control their emotions, whether it is a good or bad performance.
Speaking to reporters during a practice session, he said that nowadays social media is playing a huge role in how the players react to their performances.
According to him, most of the players take online opinions too seriously and let them affect their performances.
“These guys, they read every single good and bad thing about them,” Redick said.
“They’ll feel ‘bad’ if they play poorly and ‘good’ if they play well because of what people will say about them. So getting guys to feel neutral, with consistency every single day has just become incredibly difficult in our league.”
JJ Redick’s frustration came after his team secured victory in a three-game road trip. Following a 2-1 win, Luka Doncic and co. went back to Crypto.com Arena for a single-game homestand. They will host the San Antonio Spurs in an NBA Emirates Cup game on Wednesday.
Reddick has also praised LeBron James for bouncing back after his double-digit scoring streak was ended.
The Los Angeles Lakers won a hard-fought 123-120 game against the Toronto Raptors on December 04. The showdown ended with a buzzer-beater game-winning three from Rui Hachimura.
The veteran NBA star, James, sacrificed his streak of 1,297 consecutive games scoring at least 10 points after choosing to instead make an assist to Hachimura, which won them a match.
However, in the next game, LeBron responded with a season-high 29 points, including seven rebounds and six assists. Leading his team to a 112-108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on December 07.
Reddick lauded his superstar for such a response, saying this kind of response strengthens any player’s morale.
“I don’t think LeBron needs confidence,” Redick said.
“But it’s a fair question because I do think it’s important to be reminded every now and then of what you’re capable of.
“And for him to have the injuries and then to sort of start the season playing catch-up in a way, and start the season playing catch-up with a team that is also in a really good rhythm and, as a player, I don’t care how good you are, that’s tough to figure out. So tonight was super important.”
