Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick faced his first home loss of the 2024-25 season when his team was defeated by the Orlando Magic in a heartbreaking game.
Despite Orlando being short-handed and playing on the second night of a back-to-back, they gave the Lakers a tough challenge. The Magic’s players, who are tall and athletic, caused problems for the Lakers on offense for much of the night.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis stepped up in the final quarter, helping the Lakers take the lead. However, missed free throws in the final seconds, including two by Davis, allowed Franz Wagner to hit a game-winning 3-pointer, ruining what had been an excellent performance by James.
After the game, Redick discussed the loss and mentioned that he was happy with the team’s execution, though he was disappointed by the missed free throws and the defense on Wagner’s 3-point shot.
“I’d have to go re-watch every possession there in the last couple minutes,” Redick said. “I felt comfortable with our execution up until the missed free throws and the [Franz] Wagner three. I thought we were conceding layups.
We had the timeouts. Didn’t love the thought process and mindset when Wagner hit the 3 because we always talk about not allowing 3s in late-game situations. Small thing on the last play. We got two options on that play, and we got to one of them. Small thing, we could’ve been a little bit better, but outside of that, I’ll live with the execution.”
Redick also talked about how frustrating the loss was, especially with the missed free throws.
“Every loss is frustrating. Every loss is frustrating,” Redick said. “I thought we’ve had five losses now, and some of those could be blamed on lack of effort. But this one, it came down to late-game moments, and it swung on our missed free throws tonight.”
James and Davis were able to create separation in the fourth quarter, with both players grabbing rebounds and getting easy transition points. However, the Magic played tough, physical defense, which disrupted the Lakers’ offense and led to second-chance points for Orlando.
This loss was self-inflicted, and Redick and his coaching staff will have a lot to focus on during practice. However, they can’t dwell on it, as they have an important game against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.
It was a tough loss, especially considering the close race in the Western Conference standings. Even though it’s still early in the season, these types of losses can be costly, and now the Lakers need to focus on bouncing back.
JJ Redick also praised Dalton Knecht, one of the few bright spots outside of the team’s stars. Knecht has been playing well recently, and while it’s unclear if he will remain in the starting lineup when Rui Hachimura returns, Redick said the rookie has earned more minutes with the Lakers.
