LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Lakers have replaced D’Angelo Russell with Cam Reddish in their starting lineup in a bid to shake up the slumping team.
Russell began the game on the bench for the first time this season when the Lakers tipped off against Philadelphia on Friday night in their first game back from a 1-4 road trip.
Russell is off to a slow start under rookie coach JJ Redick, managing just 12.0 points and 5.8 assists per game. The offense-minded point guard has hit just 37.5% of his shots while looking passive at times on both ends of the court.
Redick benched Russell in the second half of the Lakers’ loss at Memphis on Wednesday night after Russell made a handful of dubious decisions. Redick said Russell had played well at times, but was also guilty of “just reverting back to certain habits” this season.
In a moment replayed widely on social media, Redick twice slammed his chair into the ground at courtside in frustration immediately after one mistake by Russell. Redick said Friday that his frustration wasn’t directed specifically at Russell, but at “25 plays” by the Lakers — and the coach made sure Russell knew it in a pregame meeting.
“Basketball is an emotional game,” Redick said. “I’m a competitive person. I’m a passionate person. Sometimes, for a brief period of time, you lose control of that emotion. It’s not the first time that it’s happened. Maybe it’s the first time something like that was over Twitter, but it’s going to happen again. It may happen two hours from now. That’s just the reality. … I’m not a zombie. That’s what we refer to as non-passionate, noncompetitive, non-expressive people.”
Redick gave no indication he was about to shake up the Lakers’ starting lineup during his pregame availability Friday. The change likely means Russell can play with more offensive freedom on LA’s second unit, rather than waiting for shot opportunities while LeBron James and Anthony Davis are on the floor with the starters.
Reddish has played in only three games this season for Los Angeles, averaging 5.0 points. He has played solid wing defense, an area in which the Lakers were lacking on their dismal trip.
Redick is only eight games into his coaching career, but the longtime NBA guard is already getting attention for his demonstrative personality. He finished his postgame news conference in Memphis by dropping the microphone and abruptly leaving the room.
Redick says he doesn’t regret being himself in his new job — and his frustrations with the Lakers on their poor trip only boosted his excitement about the long road ahead.
“It reinforced to me that I am a masochist,” Redick said. “And by that, I mean I actually am more excited right now that we’ve had some struggles. I’ve mentioned growth opportunity. This is what it’s about, man. This is why I wanted to coach. Not so we could have strawberries and ice cream every day. Anybody can do that.”
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