JJ Redick changes Lakers starting lineup, addresses viral moment in loss to Grizzlies – Daily News

LOS ANGELES – In the first game at Crypto.com Arena following his team's 4-1 road win, coach JJ Redick changed the Lakers' starting lineup for Friday's home game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Cam Reddish joined Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the first unit, replacing D'Angelo Russell in the starting unit.

Hachimura (illness) and Davis (left plantar fasciitis) were available after missing Wednesday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Lakers went 18-6 last season with their starting lineup of Russell, Reaves, Hachimura, James and Davis, which helped them win 22 of their last 32 games to close out the 2023-24 season led to Redick announcing them as the first day's starting lineup before training camp began.

But the Lakers' struggles during their five-game road trip led to change.

Reddish, who made his rotation debut off the bench in Monday's loss to the Detroit Pistons, has given the Lakers much-needed defensive athleticism and quickness in the backcourt with more playing time. He averaged 7.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in his two rotation games.

Russell's play has come under intense scrutiny given his struggles to start the season.

The 10th-year guard entered Friday averaging 12 points on 37.5% shooting (29.2% from 3-pointers) and 5.8 assists.

Redick went viral on social media for his expressive reaction after Russell made a series of bad plays in the third quarter of the loss to the Grizzlies.

Russell did not play for the final 18½ minutes and played just 22 minutes against the Grizzlies, a season-low.

“To be clear, my junior staff, not Bob Beyer, but some of the younger staff members, brought this to my attention this morning,” Redick said before the game. “For me, basketball is an emotional game. I am a competitive person, I am a passionate person. Sometimes you lose control of these emotions. It's not the first time it's happened, I'll be honest with you. Maybe this is the first time something like this has happened on Twitter, but it will happen again. It can happen in two hours. That's just the reality.