The Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night was perhaps the most stunning of the NBA season. As alleged championship contenders the Lakers shouldn't lose games to a sub-.500 Eastern Conference team, of course. But that wasn't what made it stunning; rather, it was the manner in which L.A. lost.
The Bulls made a furious comeback in the final 30 seconds of the game. They were only given the opportunity to do so because the Lakers made mistakes. LeBron James was a primary perpetrator of those mistakes and owned up to them after the game. That doesn't make it any less painful for the purple and gold to have lost a winnable game thanks to errors from superstars.
Speaking to media, head coach JJ Redick revealed he held a meeting with those stars after the brutal defeat. Redick met with James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves and said he called on them to be better while playing with each other.
"We challenged all three of them when we get to their three-man actions to play with a little more force and a little more thrust and a little more creativity," Redick said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
In the immediate, the challenge certainly worked. The Lakers' trio combined to generate 120 of the Lakers' 134 points in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, courtesy of 85 combined points and 25 combined assists. Reaves led the way with a 31-point outing, while James and Doncic had impressive lines to go with a viral highlight of their own.
Clearly Redick's challenge was met. The Lakers will have to keep it up as the postseason approaches.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as JJ Redick Issued Blunt Challenge to Lakers' Stars After Shocking Bulls Loss.
