The idea, JJ Redick said before the game, would be for the Lakers to go back to the plan they put in place when he became the team’s head coach. This plan, taking the long view and prioritizing the process of results, helped the team win 10 of the first 14 games.
“We’re all competitive. I’m competitive. We’ve got to be about the process and doing things the right way and building that consistency,” he said Tuesday night before the game. “I believe if our group does that, we’ll have good results and results to go with can live.”
But after two days of hitting home runs, there is a need to be physical, two days after the Lakers were unlucky to beat their opponent in the third quarter, where, according to their own coach, they “stopped playing,” they didn’t feel like it again defensively.
Facing a strong team in Phoenix, with whom the Lakers are fighting in the West and in their NBA Cup group, the Lakers were again significantly outclassed in the second half and lost to the Suns 127:100.
They have lost three games in a row.
The Lakers play their final group game in the NBA Cup on Friday at home against Oklahoma City and need a win to have a chance to advance to the knockout stages due to tiebreaker point differential.
Just like in their loss against Denver, the Lakers were rushed off the floor, their body language as terrible as their performance. After Denver beat them 37-15 in the third Saturday, the Lakers lost the third to the Suns 36-18 and their spirit was broken again.
Read more: The Lakers are looking to bolster their defense by returning to a more physical game
The fight the Lakers lacked in the second half materialized early, even after Kevin Durant, returning from more than a week out with injury, opened the game with a 3-pointer. But the focus wasn’t there often enough for long enough.
They broke the coverage late in the first quarter and gave Phoenix an open three. At the end of the third period, they allowed an uncontested pass.
The Lakers’ litany of defensive issues — transition issues, keeping teams off the glass, power plays on the perimeter — added to the toothlessness at the rim as the Suns routinely went to the basket while the Lakers stood around and watched.
The game only got worse from there, with Redick pulling starts midway through the fourth. And in one final blow, center Jaxson Hayes, returning to the lineup after missing two weeks with an ankle injury, appeared to re-aggravate the problem late before limping off to the dressing room.
The Lakers have a short turnaround, taking on the Spurs in San Antonio on Wednesday.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.