The Honeymoon is Over in Los Angeles

If you rewind the tape just a few weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers looked like the best story in basketball. The vibes were immaculate. The chemistry was, to quote the insiders, “off the charts.” With a new-look roster featuring Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves operating as the clear-cut number one and number two options, the team was absolutely rolling. They sprinted out to a scorching 10-4 start, playing with a frantic, infectious energy that had the Crypto.com Arena buzzing.

The bench was outscoring opponents 21 to 10 in key stretches. The defensive rotations were crisp. The offense flowed like water. It looked like the Lakers had finally cracked the code, building a team that was greater than the sum of its parts.

But there was a catch. A looming shadow. As the narrator of the viral breakdown “JJ Redick HAS A LEBRON PROBLEM” put it, there was a “dark cloud circling” the parade. Everyone knew that at some point, LeBron James would return to the lineup.

And now that he has? The storm has arrived, and it is washing away everything JJ Redick tried to build.

“Since We’ve Gotten Bron Back…”

The turning point wasn’t subtle. It was a car crash. Since LeBron’s re-integration into the lineup, the Lakers have looked like a completely different—and significantly worse—basketball team. They have lost three games in a row. They are 4-6 in their last ten. And on Christmas Day, on the biggest stage of the regular season, they were absolutely embarrassed on their home floor by the Phoenix Suns.

The loss was bad, but the post-game press conference was nuclear.

JJ Redick, the rookie head coach who was supposed to be the “intellectual savior” of the franchise, looked defeated. He looked frustrated. And for the first time, he let the mask slip.

“You know, I think since we’ve gotten Bron back, we haven’t been as organized offensively,” Redick admitted to the media.

Read that again. “Since we’ve gotten Bron back.”

In the world of NBA PR, where every sentence is sanitized and scrubbed of controversy, that is a bombshell. Redick went on to describe the team as “passionless”—a damning indictment for a squad with championship aspirations. He bemoaned “too many random possessions” and a lack of “defensive clarity.”

“I’m not doing another 53 games like this,” Redick threatened, promising an “uncomfortable” meeting with the team. But for many watching the slow-motion disaster unfold, the discomfort isn’t coming from the meeting room; it’s coming from the court, where the eye test and the advanced analytics are screaming the same terrifying conclusion.

The Tale of Two Lineups: A Statistical Horror Story

It is easy to blame “bad vibes” or “rust,” but the numbers tell a much more specific and ruthless story. When you break down the Lakers’ performance based on who is on the floor, the “LeBron Problem” becomes impossible to ignore.

Let’s look at the “First Five” lineup—the group that JJ Redick has been forced to lean on since the King’s return: LeBron James, Deandre Ayton, Luka Doncic, Rui Hachimura, and Austin Reaves.

On paper, that sounds like a Dream Team. In reality? It’s a nightmare.

Offensive Rating: 103.2 (Anemic)

Defensive Rating: 123.0 (Atrocious)

Net Rating: -19.9

A minus-19.9 Net Rating is not just bad; it is tanking-level bad. It means that when this group is on the floor, the Lakers are getting blown out by nearly 20 points per 100 possessions. The spacing is clogged, the defense is nonexistent, and the “offensive organization” Redick craves is replaced by stagnation.

Now, let’s compare that to the Lakers’ second most-used lineup—the one that doesn’t feature LeBron James, but instead swaps him out for a defensive-minded grit-grinder like Marcus Smart.

Offensive Rating: 115.6 (Elite)

Defensive Rating: 100.6 (Lockdown)

Net Rating: +15.0

The difference is staggering. It is a 35-point swing in Net Rating. The lineup without LeBron scores more efficiently (12% better) and defends significantly better (20 points better per 100 possessions).

“These are the facts of the case, and they are undisputed,” the analysis claims. The Lakers don’t need another ball-dominant, “offensive-first” player who rests on defense. They need willing role players who connect the stars. They need the Marcus Smarts of the world. But you can’t bench LeBron James… can you?

JJ Redick’s “Debt” and the Leadership Void

This brings us to the man in the hot seat: JJ Redick.

Redick is in an impossible position. The narrative around the league is that he is “in debt” to LeBron. LeBron James is the reason Redick got the interview. LeBron James is the reason Redick got the job. Their podcast, “Mind the Game,” was essentially a public audition tape that convinced the Lakers’ brass (and LeBron) that Redick was a genius.

Because of this, Redick is handcuffed. He can criticize the “team.” He can call them “passionless.” He can vaguely gesture at “offensive organization.” But he cannot do what a coach like Gregg Popovich or Erik Spoelstra would do: look LeBron in the eye and tell him he is the problem.

Critics are already pouncing on Redick’s “mo” (modus operandi). They argue he is “egotistical,” “overconfident,” and “way too emotional.” He protects certain players (the ones who got him hired) while throwing others under the bus.

“At what point do you grow a pair and call him out for his obvious BS?” the video analysis asks.

The lack of true accountability is rotting the locker room from the inside out. When the coach is afraid of the star, the standard slips. “We don’t care enough to do the things that are necessary,” Redick said. “We don’t care enough to be a professional.”

Those words ring hollow when the player setting the tone—LeBron—is the one dragging the team’s Net Rating into the abyss while escaping direct public criticism from his head coach.

The “Tomato Can” Mirage

LeBron’s defenders will point to the record. “They were 6-0 in his first six games back!” they will scream.

But context is king. Those six wins came against what the league calls “tomato cans”—bottom-feeders like the Utah Jazz (twice), the Pelicans, and a depleted Clippers squad. These were games the Lakers would have won with or without LeBron, likely by bigger margins given the chemistry they displayed early in the season.

It was a “victory lap” before the race was even finished.

When the schedule toughened up, the facade crumbled. Against real competition, the “LeBron Lakers” have looked slow, disjointed, and old. The “circus” that LeBron brings—the media attention, the Rich Paul influence, the constant podcast chatter—outweighs the positives of his stat sheet. Yes, he can still score 25 points. Yes, he can still pass. But if those stats come with a -19.9 Net Rating and a defense that bleeds points, do they actually contribute to winning?

The “Dark Cloud” Over LA

The term “Dark Cloud” is harsh, but it feels appropriate for the current mood in Los Angeles.

The Lakers had something special brewing. They had a young, hungry identity led by Luka and Reaves. They were sharing the ball. They were defending. They were fun.

Now, they are a soap opera again.

The question isn’t whether LeBron James is still a talented basketball player; clearly, he is. The question is whether he is still a winning basketball player for this specific team. The evidence suggests that his playstyle—high usage, low defensive effort, demanding total offensive control—clashes violently with what made the Lakers successful in the first month of the season.

The “uncomfortable” meeting Redick promised is just the beginning. The real discomfort will come when the front office has to look at that +15 Net Rating without LeBron and that -19 Net Rating with him, and make a decision that will shake the foundation of the NBA.

If JJ Redick wants to save his coaching career, and if the Lakers want to save their season, they might have to do the unthinkable: admit that the King is the one holding them back.

Until then, the storm continues.