JJ Redick warned his team about needing to crush the life from the Houston Rockets before it was too late. The Los Angeles Lakers did not listen to their head coach before Game 5. Surely, they can get his point now that a 3-2 lead feels far less comfortable, right?
Ahead of Game 5, Redick made a commanding statement to the media that he hoped his guys would understand. The Lakers coach was quite unapologetic with his particular choice of words used, too.
"Well, you have to kill them. You have to kill ... it's difficult to kill someone. Survival instinct says 'I want to stay alive.' So you've got to be able to be able to kill them. That's what's difficult.”
There was no murdering the Rockets' season on Wednesday. Los Angeles fumbled a very winnable 99-93 ball game to Houston in the comforts of their own arena. Redick chose to not come down on his guys too hard after the loss. However, the race to four wins is suddenly a lot closer than the Lakers remember it being.
Lakers must share JJ Redick's hunger to win Game 6 in Houston
It was a smooth ride for the Lakers through three games of this head-to-head in the first round. Sure, Los Angeles needed serious heroics to wrestle away Game 3, but they still found themselves in the position every team wants to be in during a seven-game series — up 3-0.
Now, the lead is down to 3-2. In Game 5, the Lakers became the first LeBron James-led basketball team to squander a closeout opportunity on homecourt since 2008. Ouch.
Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard, who had both had their moments of playing like stars at earlier points of the campaign, were suddenly key figures in the loss. Even the return of Austin Reaves could not save the Lakers from succumbing to the Rockets in Game 5.
To Redick's earlier point, Houston will not just go away quietly. The Rockets have showcased the desperation to keep their season alive. That same element helped the Lakers get ahead when they had it, but it has not been seen since Game 3.
The Lakers had their spurts in Game 5 when it looked like they might stun the Rockets with another comeback. However, each of those were met and answered by Houston.
Game 6 will need the Lakers to sustain that level of desperation and hunger for the entire 48 minutes of play. It is time for Los Angeles to listen to Redick in this one. There should be very little desire to want to see a do-or-die Game 7 at Crypto.com Arena.
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