LeBron James and his teammates suffered their first defeat of the early NBA season.
The Lakers dropped to 3-1 after a 109-105 defeat to the Phoenix Suns. It was a surprise result given the Lakers had held a commanding lead 83-76 going into the fourth quarter.
But Kevin Durant and Devin Booker racked up 66 points between them to complete a late comeback victory.
And new Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick was not happy with his star players, including LeBron.
James was held to just 11 points on the night, and committed a shot clock violation in the second quarter.
Redick was captured on camera shouting: “Shoot the f ball!”.
But fans and players responded positively to the coach’s passionate outburst.
Guard Austin Reaves revealed that Redick showed just as much fire in the post-game locker room.
“He let out a nice little F-word, which just shows how much he cares,” Reaves explained.
“His passion is on another level. You can tell every single second of every day that he’s locked into the betterment of our group.”
Redick himself also took responsibility for the game slipping away from his team – admitting he should have made some changes.
He told the media: “If there’s one thing to nitpick, it’s probably me.
“I probably should have gone to the fire a possession or two earlier against KD, but I liked that group that we had out there defensively. I trust those guys.
“The other thing I will say, is that we should never have a 14-point quarter. That’s on me too. I’ve got to make sure we’re running good offense.”
It’s a busy schedule for the Lakers to start the new season, and they are back in action on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And the relentless run of games means their coach has been forced to work in unusual places as he seeks a competitive edge in his first season in charge of the franchise.
Former NBA player turned studio analyst Baron Davis spotted Redick at the car wash, glued to his laptop.
‘Just ran into @jj_redick at the Car Wash. he had the Laptop watching film!!!! Players coach!!! Lakers in great hands,’ Davis wrote on X.
