Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lakers' JJ Redick Reveals Move After Frustrating Loss to Celtics

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Christian Alamodin | Last updated Feb 24, 2026 8:00 AM ET

There's no way to go about the Los Angeles Lakers' Sunday loss to the Boston Celtics other than that the Purple and Gold got torched by their fierce rivals. Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard combined for 62 of Boston's 111 points against a Lakers defense that is among the league's worst in defensive rating at 116.7.

The Lakers offense was offline, on the other hand. The Purple and Gold only made 39% of their shot attempts with only Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves scoring in double digits.

However, the factor that grabbed Lakers coach JJ Redick's attention was Neemias Queta's block attempt on Deandre Ayton's floater. The Celtics big man stuck his hand through the rim, seemingly influencing the Lakers' chances of slimming the lead.

Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton with coach JJ Redick during a gameMark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

While Redick was already animated about the non-call immediately after the game, he revealed that he took further steps to clarify the league's stance on Queta's move.

JJ Redick Reveals Talking to NBA Executive Over Non-Call During Lakers Loss

Redick talked to the press a day after his team's 111-89 defeat to talk about various topics, with the Queta non-call among the talking points. He revealed that he escalated the issue to Monty McCutchen, the NBA's SVP for ref development.

"I talked with Monty this morning, got some great explanations on some stuff I have questions on," Redick said, as reported by ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "Truthfully, he said it wasn't a goaltend."

While he respects the league's decision on the matter, he couldn't help but throw jabs at the issue.

"I don't know that we want to endanger our guys' fingers," the second-year coach quipped. "If I was Luke Kornet or [Victor Wembanyama], I would literally — every time somebody took a shot — just stick my hand into the rim and not jostle it because I think it's just an incredible return."

The Lakers' next opponents will be the Orlando Magic at 10:30 am Tuesday EST.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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