JJ Redick takes responsibility for Lakers' first loss

Remember when JJ Redick launched a scathing attack on Doc Rivers for refusing to take accountability for the Bucks' woes? That was Redick wearing his studio analyst hat critiquing Milwaukee's head coach. 

Eight months later, Redick finds himself on the opposite end of the debate. His Lakers had a nine-point lead after the first quarter of Monday's game against the Suns before squandering the advantage, getting out-scored 25-14 in the second quarter of the 109-105 loss.

The Lakers lacked energy at the start of the second as the Suns cut the nine-point deficit to two in less than three minutes. The quick jolt of scoring, brought about by careless Lakers turnovers, was enough to swing the momentum in the home team's favor.

After the game, Redick pointed to that exact stretch of play and took full responsibility for allowing the Suns to mount a comeback.

"We should never have a 14-point quarter," Redick said of the second-quarter slump, via Spectrum Sportsnet. "So that's on me as well. Part of that is me. I gotta make sure we're running good offense. I felt like it was a little random. We got stalled out. We talked about it at halftime. For us to be a high-level offense, we gotta move bodies and we gotta move the ball. They gotta screen. They just kinda took us out of what we were doing initially, and we were great in the second half. We executed great in the second half. It's just that second quarter really hurt us."

Redick's comments prove he's prepared to take accountability when things go awry. His willingness to hone in on in-game details has earned him the praise of many analysts and former players. However, his inclination to learn from mistakes, by studying hours of film, is the aspect that truly bodes well for the Lakers. 

It was obvious that Redick's honeymoon period — the Lakers got off to their best start in 14 years — wasn't going to last forever. Now that the first loss is out of the way, the Lakers will endure a tough stretch of road games against teams such as the undefeated Cavaliers and the Grizzlies. At some point during that trip, tempers could flare, and Redick could come under scrutiny. How he handles the fire will be a test of his mettle.