Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick questioned his team's effort during their 132-108 defeat to the Phoenix Suns, highlighting their defence as a concern. 

Redick watched on as Dillon Brooks scored 25 points, Devin Booker added 21 as the Suns made it two wins from their last three games, with all five starters hitting double figures.

The Lakers were without five-time All-Star Luka Doncic through injury, but they did welcome the return of Austin Reaves, who had been missing after sustaining a calf strain. 

Reaves finished with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the bench, while LeBron James led the Lakers with 23, but even he could not stop his team from slumping to back-to-back defeats. 

Los Angeles have now lost three of their last five games, with this their ninth defeat of the season, seeing them sit fourth in the Western Conference with a record of 19-9. 

But the cause of Redick's concerns came with his defence, with the Lakers outscored 45-29 in the third quarter and saw the Suns shoot 72.7% from the field (83.3% on 3-pointers) in the period.

When asked if his team had enough players who are hardwired to play with consistent effort and physicality the way a team like the Suns play, Redick simply replied: "No."

Final pic.twitter.com/vE53cPPNZy

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 24, 2025

After improving during the second half of last season and finishing 17th in defensive rating in the NBA, the Lakers have experienced a backslide to begin 2025-26, and rank 24th.

"We practice this stuff enough," Redick said of the defensive principles he wants to see. "We review this stuff enough.

"We show film about this stuff enough that to me, it like comes down to just making the choice. It's making the choice.

"There are shortcuts you can take or you can do the hard thing and you can make the second effort, or you can sprint back or you can't. It's just a choice.

"And there's a million choices in a game, and you're very likely not going to make every choice correctly.

"But can you make the vast majority of them correctly? It gives you a chance to win."

Marcus Smart, a former Defensive Player of the Year signed in the offseason to bring an edge to the Lakers, was even more blunt than Redick in his assessment.

"We doing s***," Smart said. "We're being real s***** right now, and it's showing. Every team goes through it trying to figure it out.

"You just pray that it happens early and we can fix it before it's too late.

"There's really no defence, no scheme we can do when we're giving up offensive rebounds in crucial moments like we are, or guys are getting wherever they want on the court.

"And there's no help, there's no resistance, there's no urgency. So, it's tough. And JJ is right. There's really nothing he can do. It's on us."