Kendrick Perkins shreds JJ Redick for not being accountable after scathing Lakers rant

ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins is pointing the finger at the man he believes always points the finger.

Following the Lakers’ 119-96 home Christmas loss to the Rockets, head coach JJ Redick ripped into his “terrible” team for the inexcusable effort.

He also lit into his team earlier in the week after another lopsided loss to the Suns.

“Yeah, two words of the day were effort and execution. When we’ve done both those things at a high level, we’ve been a good basketball team. When we haven’t, we’re a terrible basketball team,” Redick said.

He scorched them without mentioning who the real problem from his point of view, but did say it has been “pretty consistent” who has lacked effort and care for the team.

Perkins thought that rant in itself was terrible.

“It’s always somebody else’s fault. It’s never JJ Redick’s fault,” Perkins said during ESPN’s “Get Up” on Friday. “I watched the game last night. Did I see LeBron James pouting all game long? Did I see the bad body language from LeBron? Absolutely. Did I see him not put forth the defensive effort, getting back in transition, only having two rebounds last night in a game when you know a team loves to pound the glass and grab offensive rebounds? Did I see your best franchise player, Luka Doncic, complaining after every single call? Your damn right I did.

“But JJ, why don’t they care? Why are they not playing hard? Why are they not trying to compete on the defensive side of things. You’re the coach, that’s a reflection of you. When your team is not responding and going out there and competing at a high level defensively and playing hard, that’s saying that they’re not listing or they somewhat lack respect for you. So, there’s gotta be a little level of accountability all across the board.”

Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick watches game action against the Houston Rockets during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The Lakers had a successful season last year after adding Doncic to their roster in a major trade from the Mavericks that blew up the league.

They finished 50-32 before losing in the first round of the playoff to the Timberwolves, 4-1.

They got off to a hot start this season, going 15-4, but the Lakers have hit a turn for the worse and have dropped six of their last 10 games and have been outscored by an average of 9.6 points per game.

Kendrick Perkins looks on before the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers during Game Four of the 2025 NBA Finals on June 13, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. NBAE via Getty Images

Rui Hachimura had a tough night Thursday, scoring zero points on 0-6 shooting in 28 minutes.

Meanwhile James had a solid game, finishing with 18 points and five assists.

The have not performed well defensively when on the court at the same time, with lineups fearing James and Hachimura registering one of NBA’s worst defensive ratings (127.2).

The Lakers (19-10) will have to prove themselves against the West-worst Kings (7-23) on Sunday.