Have Lakers regressed under JJ Redick?

The Lakers are 12-10 after the first 22 games of JJ Redick's first season as a head coach.

At the exact juncture last season, the Lakers had a better record (13-9), defensive rating (111.4 to 117.7) and net rating (-0.8 to -4.7), not to mention averaged more points (112.2 to 111.5), rebounds (44.1 to 40.3) and shot a better FG% (48.1 to  47.3). They also held opponents to 45.2 FG% (eighth best) compared to 48.7 under Redick (dead last).  

If we go beyond basic counting and advanced stats, Darvin Ham's team also played harder on a night-to-night basis, averaging more deflections (15.2 to 14.3), loose balls recovered (5.5 to 4.0) and charges drawn (0.68 to 0.41). The most worrying hustle stat? Ham's Lakers were contesting 45.4 shots a game compared to Redick's Lakers' 36.6. 

Essentially, the Lakers are contesting nine fewer shots under Redick, which would explain why they are hands down the worst defensive team in the league, allowing opponents to shoot 48.7 percent a game. 

All these metrics suggest the Lakers may have regressed under Redick, who was earmarked as the next Pat Riley in some NBA circles. The Duke alum nearly validated those comparisons when he got off to a blazing start. 

However, as any ardent NBA fan knows, a team reveals its true self between the Game 20 and Game 40 marks when early highs and lows of a season settle into more consistent patterns. That's why many analysts weren't high on these Lakers despite their 10-4 start, which included a six-game winning streak.

It's easy to forget that many Lakers were vocal about their issues with Ham last season, with Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell leading the charge. Now that Ham is out of the picture, the Lakers have nobody to blame but themselves. And to their credit, they took accountability for the embarrassing 134-93 loss to the Heat on Wednesday. 

"It's not on the coaches. It's definitely on us, for sure," LeBron James said after the loss.

Davis, who scored a season-low eight points in the loss, echoed those sentiments.

"I have the utmost confidence in this group and this coaching staff," he said. "I personally just think it starts with me. If I play better, then guys play better. I definitely take accountability, especially the last couple of games. Just not being there for the team on the offensive end."