The Los Angeles Lakers have been walking a tightrope all season, and Christmas Day might’ve been the moment they finally slipped. A blowout loss to the Houston Rockets wasn’t just a bad night at the office - it was a full-on exposure of the team’s biggest flaws, and head coach JJ Redick didn’t hold back afterward.
“We don’t care enough right now,” Redick said postgame. “That’s the part that bothers you a lot.
We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional.”
That’s not just coach-speak. That’s frustration boiling over.
Redick promised an “uncomfortable” practice before their upcoming matchup with the Sacramento Kings, and if his tone is any indication, it’s not just about X’s and O’s. It’s about effort.
Accountability. The kind of intangible things that don’t show up on a stat sheet but win games - especially in a league where athleticism and energy are currency.
The Lakers, to their credit, have hung around near the top of the Western Conference standings. But that’s been largely thanks to their clutch-time heroics - they’re 10-0 in games that reach crunch time.
That’s impressive, sure, but it’s also the kind of streak that rarely holds up over an 82-game season. When they run into teams that are bigger, faster, and more physical - like Houston on Christmas or San Antonio in the NBA Cup quarterfinals - the cracks start to show.
And those cracks are widening.
Redick’s calling card early in his coaching tenure was his belief in effort as a skill - not just a choice. He used to call his high-motor reserves “the banshees,” a nod to the chaos they created with energy alone.
But that group has thinned out. Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent have struggled to make an offensive impact, which makes it tough to keep them on the floor.
Dorian Finney-Smith, once a potential glue guy, is gone - now playing for Houston after signing for the mid-level exception. Given his age and injury history, that departure might be understandable.
But it’s still a loss.
Then there’s the curious case of Jordan Goodwin. A year ago, he was a key reserve, a spark plug off the bench.
Now? He’s thriving in Phoenix - because the Lakers waived him to make room under the first-apron hard cap for Marcus Smart.
That move made sense on paper. Smart brings name recognition, playoff experience, and a Defensive Player of the Year trophy.
But he's also older, banged up, and - as expected - has struggled to stay on the floor consistently.
The Lakers could’ve tried to keep both. They could’ve moved less impactful players or even used cash or draft capital to open a roster spot.
Instead, they let a young, healthy contributor walk to bring in a veteran with a checkered injury history. It’s the kind of decision that illustrates a bigger trend in L.A.'s front office.
Rob Pelinka has shown a clear preference for pedigree - former lottery picks, big names, guys with draft-day buzz. Since the infamous Russell Westbrook trade gutted the team’s depth, the Lakers have taken a steady stream of buy-low swings on former first-rounders: Malik Monk, Lonnie Walker IV, Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, Cam Reddish, and now Deandre Ayton, Nick Smith Jr., and Jake LaRavia.
Some of those moves have paid off. Others haven’t.
But the common thread is clear: the Lakers keep betting on talent over tenacity.
Meanwhile, other teams have been scooping up the kind of high-energy, low-cost players the Lakers seem to overlook - and turning them into contributors. Goodwin in Phoenix.
Scotty Pippen Jr. in Memphis. Jay Huff in Indiana.
And, of course, Alex Caruso, who’s now thriving in Chicago and Oklahoma City. These aren’t just feel-good stories - they’re reminders that effort still matters.
And right now, it’s exactly what the Lakers are missing.
Ayton and Hachimura are talented players. No one’s questioning that.
But neither has ever been known for bringing relentless energy to the floor. And that’s the issue.
The Lakers have a scouting department that finds diamonds in the rough, but the front office seems more interested in polish than grit. That’s a problem when your team is built around Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, and a 41-year-old LeBron James.
Those guys need help - not just in terms of skill, but in terms of hustle. And nearly a year after acquiring Dončić and reshaping the franchise’s future, the Lakers still haven’t fully adjusted to what their star actually needs around him.
Fans have their own ideas. Some want Hachimura coming off the bench.
Others think Vincent shouldn’t be in the rotation at all. There’s a growing push to give two-way guard Nick Smith Jr. more minutes.
And while there’s some logic to all of that, it’s starting to feel like rearranging deck chairs. Redick is doing what he can with the ingredients he’s been given, but there’s only so much lemonade you can make when you’re short on sugar - and effort.
This isn’t a new conversation in Lakerland. It’s been brewing for years.
But with a new owner in Mark Walter - who’s shown with the Dodgers that he’s willing to spend big and think bigger - the pressure is shifting. When Walter took over the Dodgers, he didn’t wait long to bring in Andrew Friedman and build a powerhouse.
Three World Series titles later, that decision speaks for itself.
Now, Rob Pelinka finds himself in a similar spot. His coach is publicly calling out the team’s lack of energy.
The league is trending toward teams that play fast, hard, and together. And when the Lakers get exposed on national stages, it’s usually by teams that bring more juice.
The trade deadline is just over a month away. If the Lakers are serious about making a run, they’ll need to inject some life into this roster.
That means players who bring energy, effort, and urgency - not just names and résumés. If they can’t do that, it’s going to be hard to justify sticking with a front office that’s spent the better part of five years overlooking the very thing this team needs most.