JJ Redick was willing to change his lineup for a preseason back-to-back. He was not willing to lower his expectations for how the Los Angeles Lakers competed.
After Tuesday’s 124-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors, Redick described the opening stretch as “insane” and the first-half performance as “unacceptable.”
The Lakers played without seven players, including Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler. That made this an unusual opportunity for other players to handle larger responsibilities, but Redick’s response centered on the standard those players still needed to meet.
“I still expect to win and I still expect us to play to our standards,” Redick said.
His frustration followed a first half in which the Warriors built an 81-53 lead. The result offered little basis for judging what a healthy Lakers rotation will become, but the defensive problems gave Redick specific work to address before the next exhibition.
There were individual positives, including another encouraging assessment of Quentin Grimes and an example of Matisse Thybulle helping Adou Thiero from the sideline. Neither erased the larger concern: Los Angeles had allowed Golden State to establish control long before the final score was settled.
JJ Redick’s frustration started almost immediately
Redick did not wait until halftime to intervene. He called a timeout 52 seconds into the game, an early indication that the opening possessions were already falling short of what he wanted.
The problems continued after that stoppage. At halftime, Jovan Buha reported repeated breakdowns against Golden State’s back cuts and split cuts, while identifying rebounding and protection around the basket without Kessler as concerns through the Lakers’ first two preseason outings.
Halftime: Warriors 81, Lakers 53
Warriors have shredded the shorthanded Lakers. LA has been repeatedly beaten on back-cuts and split-cuts. Rim protection and rebounding in the non-Kessler lineups is the biggest concern through 6 quarters. Grimes and Mamu each have 12 points.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 7, 2026
Those observations help explain why the loss was about more than the missing scoring of Doncic and Reaves. Losing track of a player cutting toward the basket puts the rest of the defense in a difficult position before a shot is attempted.
Someone must leave another assignment to help, opening the possibility of a pass to the player that defender abandoned. Finishing the possession creates another responsibility.
Even when the first shot misses, a defense has not completed its work until it secures the ball. Buha’s reporting pointed to problems both in preventing opportunities near the basket and in ending possessions afterward.
That combination is especially difficult for a lineup already missing important offensive players. A team that has to work harder to generate its own shots cannot afford to repeatedly give an opponent easy routes to the rim or another chance after a miss.
Lakers Daily’s earlier examination of three tests for Redick’s defense focused on how perimeter pressure, help and rebounding must function together. Tuesday provided a different kind of test with so many players unavailable: Could the remaining group maintain its organization against Golden State’s movement?
The first-half deficit and Redick’s response showed that he was not satisfied with the answer. That does not establish a permanent flaw in the roster, but it identifies a more useful coaching concern than simply noting that the Lakers lost a preseason game.
Seven absences changed the lineup, but not Redick’s standard
The missing players need to remain central to any assessment of the game. Before tipoff, it was confirmed that Doncic, Reaves, Kessler, Ziaire Williams, Thybulle, Collin Sexton and Arthur Kaluma were unavailable.
Lakers Daily had previously covered the day-to-day injury updates on Reaves and Kessler. Tuesday’s absences left Redick evaluating combinations under circumstances that differed substantially from a normal regular-season game.
The starting five consisted of Bronny James, Grimes, Jake LaRavia, Thiero and Sandro Mamukelashvili. The same group had helped produce a second-quarter run against Sacramento the previous night.
That is an important distinction when evaluating the decision. Redick was not simply assembling five available names without any recent evidence of how they could play together.
There had been an encouraging stretch to build on, even though a different opponent presented a different challenge. The absences also complicate individual judgments.
A player asked to initiate offense in this lineup may have a much smaller creation burden alongside Doncic or Reaves. A perimeter defender playing without Kessler behind him faces a different set of help decisions than he would with the center available.
Those limitations should keep one exhibition from becoming a sweeping verdict on the team’s ceiling. Redick’s comments, however, made clear that he still expected the players on the floor to execute and compete.
Availability explains the personnel he used; it does not settle whether that personnel performed its assignments well enough.
Quentin Grimes still earned praise after the loss
Redick’s criticism of the opening half did not prevent him from recognizing work he liked. For example, he highlighted Grimes’ defense.
“I think his commitment to the defensive end has been really good throughout camp and these first two games,” Redick said.
Spectrum SportsNet also shared a postgame segment covering Redick’s view of Grimes’ role, the team’s wing depth and Thiero’s physical condition.
JJ Redick on how he envisions Quentin Grimes' role for the season, the defensive versatility with their wing depth, and where Adou is at physically: pic.twitter.com/6MwvWlHrlj
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) October 7, 2026
The Grimes comment gives the Lakers a more specific takeaway than the final margin. Redick was evaluating a player’s habits across camp and both games, rather than allowing a poor team result to erase everything that came before it.
It also keeps the focus on what a supporting player can supply when the unavailable teammates return.
Defensive commitment remains relevant whether Grimes is handling a larger offensive workload or playing alongside the Lakers’ main creators.
That makes it an important part of his evaluation even on a night when the overall defense struggled.
The praise should not be stretched into an announcement about a permanent starting job or guaranteed minutes. Redick’s reported statement establishes that he liked Grimes’ defensive commitment, not that every remaining lineup decision has been made.
Thiero’s sideline lesson offered another defensive takeaway
Thybulle was unavailable to play, but he remained involved in the teaching. He was caught speaking to Thiero when the forward returned to the bench during the first quarter.
Afterward, Thiero explained that the conversation concerned defense and how to choose when to apply pressure.
“We were talking about defense,” Thiero said. “That’s what he’s been helping me with the whole time. Just letting me know to pick my spots, when to be aggressive, when not to.”
That is a useful detail within a game defined by defensive frustration. Aggression only helps when a player recognizes the right moment for it.
Moving toward the ball can disrupt an offense, but leaving an assignment at the wrong time can create the very cutting opportunity the opponent wants.
There was also a visible response to an effort play later in the game. The Lakers’ bench celebrated LaRavia diving for a loose ball despite the substantial deficit.
It was a small moment, but one tied directly to the kind of engagement Redick expected.
The Lakers next face Sacramento on Thursday. Whether more players are available will shape that evaluation, but Tuesday’s lesson applies to whichever combination takes the floor: Track the cutters, support the first defender and finish the possession.
Redick’s message leaves room for both patience and accountability. The Lakers are still evaluating combinations in preseason, and the missing players matter.
The opening half against Golden State still fell below the standard their coach expects.
