Despite snapping a season-worst three-game losing streak with a win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers closed out the calendar year on an uneven note, dropping four of their final five games. Among those losses was a lopsided 128–106 defeat to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
Los Angeles sits at 20–11 on the season, but head coach JJ Redick acknowledged postgame that the team is still struggling to define its identity.
“Still trying to figure that out,” Redick said during his press conference. “I know that’s maybe a cop-out, and probably is, but we’ve had a lot of stops and starts. As a group — players, coaches, staff — we’ve really tried to play the right way every night and have the right intent.”
Redick added that identifying a team’s DNA can take time, referencing a past conversation with legendary coach Phil Jackson.
“He once told me he always felt he knew who his team was by Thanksgiving,” Redick said. “With this group, that’s hard to figure out right now.”
When asked about Redick’s remarks, Luka Doncic offered a more upbeat perspective, pointing to the standings as a reason for optimism.
“We’re 20–11, which isn’t too bad,” Doncic said in Spanish. “We’re only two or three games out of second place. It may look bad, but it’s really not. Still, we definitely have to get better.”
Doncic also highlighted how inconsistent rotations and lineup changes have made it harder to establish continuity.
“The flow of lineups and rotations has been challenging for everyone,” he explained. “Not just the coaches, but the players too. Building an identity is difficult. This team is different from last year’s, and the identity will be different as well. Last season, it felt like we didn’t really find it until late January.”
The Lakers will open the 2026 calendar year with a two-game set against the Memphis Grizzlies.
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