JJ Redick criticized Lakers inability to contain the ball in Game 3 loss

After being badly outscored in the paint by the Wolves in Game 3, Lakers head coach JJ Redick had plenty of critiques of his team’s defense.

When the Lakers traded Anthony Davis for Luka Dončić, it gave them a young superstar to build with for years, but it hurt them defensively in the present.

Los Angeles’ frontcourt already had a depth issue with AD, but without him, all they had during the regular season was Jaxson Hayes and some centers on two-way deals.

This weakness has been painfully obvious during their playoff games against the Wolves. Hayes has been virtually unplayable and hasn’t reached double-digit minutes in any game.

Without a rim protector, that puts an even greater burden on perimeter defenders. On Friday, the Lakers struggled to keep the ball in front of them, leading to a whole lot of interior baskets for Minnesota.

After their Game 3 loss, JJ Redick talked about how the defense could not slow down the Wolves’ perimeter players.

“We couldn’t contain the ball tonight,” Redick said. “Our closeouts in the first quarter were god awful. I thought we did a better job in the second quarter…The fact is, we don’t have rim protection. So if you give up blow-bys, we’re going to give up something. We’re going to give up a three or give up a shot from [Anthony Edwards] at the rim.”

The stats certainly back up Redick’s claim. The Lakers allowed the Wolves to score 56 points in the paint. Comparatively, Los Angeles only scored 26 points from inside.

Minnesota has elite perimeter players like Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels and bigs like Julius Randle, who scored 22 points in Game 3. They’ve proven to be bigger, stronger and faster than the Lakers.

Despite these disadvantages, it was a close contest entering the fourth. However, the Wolves went on a 13-1 run in the final minutes to secure the result. It was a scenario that felt inevitable as Minnesota has proven to be able to handle and overcome any run the Lakers have had during this series.

Redick wasn’t the only one who was vocal about the team’s defensive struggles. Dorian Finney-Smith had similar statements postgame as well.

“Just got to do a better job of staying in front of the ball,” Finney-Smith said. “I feel like we were just giving up too many blow-bys. It really didn’t have nothing to do with our size. It was the on-ball defense and rotation when we’ve got to scramble. We didn’t have the sense of urgency the whole game and they did. And they made some big shots at the end of the game.”

Now, DFS himself had some particularly rough defensive moments. He was an on-ball defender more often than usual and was unable to pose any resistance for Minnesota.

In the end, help isn’t on the way. A rim protector is not arriving, and neither is a 3-and-D wing.

The Lakers will either tighten up and overcome these flaws in their roster construction or they’ll be in Cancun next week.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.