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Lakers coach JJ Redick pointed to turnovers, missed shots and defensive breakdowns after Houston handed Los Angeles a 99-93 loss in Game 5 on Wednesday night at crypto.com Arena. The Rockets now lead the first-round series 3-2 and send it back to Houston for Game 6.
Redick said the second quarter was a major swing point for the Lakers. “Again, another period in the second quarter where we just turn the ball over,” he said. “A little bit of game plan and KYP mistakes defensively for us in that second quarter.”
He also credited Houston for capitalizing on the openings. “You got to give them a lot of credit. They made shots tonight including some guys who normally don’t make threes,” Redick said. “I think our defense, you hope 99 is enough to win and we just couldn’t make shots.”
The Lakers finished with 15 turnovers and shot 7-of-27 from three, a combination Redick said left little margin for error. He added that the staff will review rotation choices before Game 6. “We’ll take a look at the whole process and take a look at the substitution patterns and figure out where we can be better in game six.”
Austin Reaves returned from a nine-game injury absence and scored 22 points, and Redick said he liked what he saw from the guard’s approach. “I thought he was aggressive. Did a nice job of driving,” Redick said. “He’ll find his rhythm.”
Asked what level of turnover is acceptable in a playoff series like this, Redick drew a line between aggressive and passive mistakes. “Turnovers of aggression are okay. Turnovers of passivity are not.”
He said some of the errors were simply too costly because they gave Houston transition chances. “I do think we had two of those turnovers where we get a stop and we throw the ball ahead out of bounds. Those are the kind that you wish you had back,” Redick said.
Redick also broke down a few defensive possessions where the Rockets created cleaner looks than the Lakers wanted to allow. “It’s the overreaction to a Josh Okogie close out and we don’t have a low man,” he said. “Those are the threes that we don’t want to give up.”
Even with the loss, Redick kept the message centered on response and urgency. “It’s the first team to win four games in a series,” he said. “We happen to have won the first three. They happen to have won the last two. We’ve got to be better.”
Los Angeles will need that adjustment quickly, with no team yet having recovered from an 0-3 deficit in NBA playoff history.
