The Los Angeles Lakers entered their second season under head coach JJ Redick with hopes of improving on last year’s early playoff exit

With just over one-third of the NBA season already completed, the Lakers have experienced some ups and downs this year. After getting off to a 15-4 start, the Lakers struggled with inconsistency. In Thursday’s primetime matchup, the team fell short of Redick’s expectations.

The Houston Rockets dominated the Lakers en route to a 119-96 win on Christmas Day. Redick sounded off after Los Angeles dropped a third straight game, questioning his team’s effort and professionalism.

“We don’t care enough right now,” Redick said. “And that’s the part that bothers you a lot. We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don’t care enough to be a professional.” The assessment drew a sharp reaction from former NBA player Kenyon Martin.

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“So, he said the words of the day are what? Is this the f—–g kindergarten classroom where you put words of the day on the f—–g board? What are we talking about here?” Martin asked on an episode of “Gil’s Arena.”

“‘The words of the day are effort and execute.’ I saw that when I used to drop my son off at school in kindergarten two years ago. There was a word of the day on the door when you walk in. You got to tell the teacher the word of the day before you get into the classroom. Is this what we’re doing here? We’re professional athletes who are making 30, 40 or 50 million dollars a year. That’s what we’re doing here.”

Martin then floated a theory about how the Lakers’ locker room views Redick. 

“JJ, I don’t know if you know this or not, bro. Them dudes don’t respect you. You are their peer. Just because you have the head coach title, they don’t look at you as such.” Redick last appeared in an NBA game in 2021 with the Dallas Mavericks.

From Martin’s perspective, NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron James is viewed as more of a leader than the team’s head coach.

“And the main (culprit) is the guy who you just had got the podcast with. That helped get you the job, man. Let’s call a spade a spade,” he said. “Once you address the crying, every possession to the rest with Luka and Austin Reeves and LeBron once. If you addressed it once, if they respect you, they’ll go out of their way to try to change it because you’re a new voice in there. And you gave a certain effort when you played, JJ Redick. You did. You played hard every time you stepped on the floor. People respected that about you.”

Redick also committed to making Saturday’s practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Sacramento Kings “uncomfortable” for the Lakers.

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Crespi’s basketball team is starting to gain notice just in time for the start of Mission League play next month.

The Celts (11-4) advanced to the semifinals of the toughest division of the Classic at Damien with a 70-67 victory over Northern California power Richmond Salesian on Saturday.

Carter Barnes finished with 16 points and five assists. Jasiah Williams had 15 points. And, in a big development for the Celts, 6-foot-10 transfer student Rodney Mukendi, who became eligible on Friday, had nine points and eight rebounds in 13 minutes as he continues to gain playing time and makes the transition to blending in.

Crespi will face the winner of St. John Bosco-Phoenix Sunnyslope in the Platinum division semifinals on Monday.

Crean Lutheran 61, Texas Sandra Day O’Connor 60: Nick Giarrusso had 17 points and 12 rebounds to help Crean Lutheran earn a spot in the Platinum division semifinals.

Rolling Hills Prep 61, Arizona Mesa 47: Nick Welch Jr. had 25 points and 14 rebounds to advance Rolling Hills Prep (12-2) to the Gold Division semifinals at Damien.

Eastvale Roosevelt 65, Utah American Fork 61: Sloane Harris had 26 points for Roosevelt.

Corona Centennial 70, Idaho Owyee 46: Stanford commit Isaiah Rogers scored 21 points for Centennial.

Mayfair 55, Palisades 49: Josiah Johnson finished with 27 points for Mayfair.

Campbell Hall 75, Washington Prep 69: Ean Britt finished with 23 points for Campbell Hall.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, De La Salle 64: In double overtime, the Warriors prevailed. Kayleb Kearse scored 23 points and Dominic Gallardo had 16.

Crossroads 65, California 58: Shalen Sheppard, cleared by the Southern Section after transferring from Brentwood, scored 19 points for Crossroads.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 85, St. Augustine 47: NaVorro Bowman had 17 points for 10-4 Notre Dame. Josiah Nance added 15 points.

St. Anthony 64, Tesoro 55: Jamil House had 24 points and seven rebounds for St. Anthony.

Calabasas 76, Menlo 53: JR Hughes had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Calabasas.

Viewpoint 62, Palo Verde 43: Solomon Clanton Jr. finished with 21 points for 10-2 Viewpoint.

Girls basketball

Windward 68, Bishop Montgomery 50: Angelina Habis scored 37 points, including eight threes, for a Windward team that got better after the sit-out transfer period ended Friday. Charis Rainey added 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Sierra Canyon 72, San Juan Hills 22: Emilia Krstevski finished with 16 points and Payton Montgomery had 12 rebounds for 11-1 Sierra Canyon.

The Las Vegas Raiders will be without their two best players in a game that will determine who gets the rights to the No. 1 overall pick next April.

The New York Giants will head west Sunday in a battle between two 2 and 13 teams — Big Blue currently owns the No. 1 pick but would forfeit it to the Raiders with a victory.

Raiders tight end Brock Bowers was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, ending his season. A few days later, defensive end Maxx Crosby was listed as out because of a nagging knee injury.

Crosby, who said earlier this week he did not “give a s—” about the No. 1 pick, then left the team facility because he disagreed with his status for the remainder of the year, according to Fox Sports NFL reporter Jay Glazer.

Glazer said the Raiders wanted to shut the star defensive end down for the team’s final two games of the regular season, but Crosby “vehemently disagreed” with the idea and left the facility. Crosby, a Pro Bowler in each of the past five seasons, has played in each of the Raiders’ 15 games this season and has recorded 10.0 sacks.

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“I don’t play for that. My job is to be the best defensive end in the world,” Crosby told reporters Tuesday.

“That’s what I focus on every day, and being a great leader, and being an influence, and being that guy on a consistent basis for my team. The front office, the coaches, they do that. But that’s got nothing to do with me. I’ve learned that lesson in the past, you can’t control everything. That’s not my job description, my job is to be the best in the world at what I do.”

The No. 1 overall pick would give the Raiders a chance to select the top quarterback in the class, as Geno Smith doesn’t appear to be the long-term answer. 

The Giants seem to have found their franchise quarterback in Jaxson Dart, which would likely prompt a trade back if they hold the pick.

The Giants and Raiders play at 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday. 

Fox News’ Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.  

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