JJ Redick sends strong warning to Lakers bench after pathetic 60-second span

Lakers head coach JJ Redick made it clear that what happened on Sunday night won’t occur again. And that there are consequences, especially for end-of-bench players, for not being ready to play in an NBA game when their number is called.The Lakers coach thought his team’s lead was safe when he subbed out most of his main rotation players – Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler and Matisse Thybulle – with the Lakers leading by 14 points (123-109) with 1:43 left of their home game against the Raptors. Luka Dončić, who had already scored 41 points by that point, had been out of the game for 45 seconds, with the Lakers and Redick believing the end-of-bench players would put the finishing touches on securing the victory. Even though the Lakers did eventually beat the Raptors, it didn’t come to fruition as Redick and the team hoped, with the end-of-bench players nearly blowing a double-digit lead in less than a minute.“I won’t make that mistake again,” Redick said.“I’ll leave the guys in.

You gotta play to the final buzzer, and if guys are not ready to play, then I just won’t put them in.”After one of the lone rotation players, Quentin Grimes, split a pair of free throws to put the Lakers up 124-109 with 1:24 left, Jamison Battle hit a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to cut the Raptors’ deficit to 12. A failed lob attempt from Grimes to Jarred Vanderbilt that resulted in a turnover turned into another Battle catch-and-shoot 3 in transition that quickly cut the Lakers’ lead to nine points. And a failed inbounds pass by Bronny James led to the Lakers’ lead dropping down to seven after Battle hit a floater on the Raptors’ ensuing possession, making it eight straight points in less than 20 seconds of game time for the 2024 undrafted forward out of Ohio State.Redick had seen enough by the time Jaden Bradley converted an and-1 layup to trim the Raptors’ deficit to six points with 44 seconds left (and five points after making the free throw) after the...