JJ Redick Says Lakers' Transition Defense Has Been 'Dogs--t' in NBA Preseason

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is unimpressed with his team's ability to get back on defense through the first two games of the 2025-26 preseason.

Redick said Tuesday the Lakers' defense in transition has been "dogs--t," per Lakers reporter Jovan Buha.

Austin Reaves meanwhile said Tuesday there he and his teammates are still working out how to balance offensive rebounding with transition defense.

"If you're getting seven offensive rebounds a game, but you're giving up 18 points a game in transition, it doesn't quite work out," Reaves said, per Cal News Group's Khobi Price. "So you have to find a good balance of when to crash, when not to crash, how many to crash. So I think we've been playing with that in that sense. We're gonna try to figure out what's best for us."

The Lakers have allowed an average of 21.0 fast-break points per game through the first two contests of the preseason.

Multiple key players, including LeBron James and Luka Dončić, were missing for both Friday's loss to Phoenix Suns and Sunday's defeat by the Golden State Warriors.

But missing stars aren't enough of an excuse for a Lakers defense that has struggled for years to get back across the court quickly enough.

The Lakers' reputation reached the point last season that opponents began game-planning for slow transition defense, as Toronto Raptors guard Ochai Agbaji said in a mid-game interview last November.

"Obviously, they don't really wanna get back, so we can rebound, we're out and running," Agbaji said last Nov. 10. "So, that's the game plan."

The Lakers went on to win that game, but Agbaji had made his point. The team ultimately finished the season ranked 25th in the NBA with 16.9 opponent fast-break points allowed per game.

Even with key starters sidelined, transition defense remaining an obvious weakness for the Lakers will be a concern for Redick heading into his second season as head coach.

Redick will have two weeks and four more preseason games to work on the issue before the Lakers tip off the 2025-26 campaign on Tuesday, Oct. 21 against the visiting Golden State Warriors.