On Christmas Day the Lakers dropped their third straight game, an ugly 23-point loss to the Houston Rockets. That comes on the heels of a 24-point loss to the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers are 2-4 in their last six with the worst defense in the NBA in that stretch with a -10.9 net rating in that stretch.

After the game, a frustrated JJ Redick vented at his team, with quotes via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

"We don't care enough right now," Redick said. "And that's the part that bothers you a lot. We don't care enough to do the things that are necessary. We don't care enough to be a professional...

"Saturday's practice — I told the guys — it's going to be uncomfortable," Redick said. "The meeting is going to be uncomfortable. I'm not doing another 53 games like this."

Redick made similar comments after the loss to the Suns days earlier, saying of his team's defense, "It comes down to just making the choice. It's making the choice."

Three quick thoughts.

1) It's understandable that Redick is frustrated with the losing and the play of his team lately. Lakers fans are, too. He's understandably frustrated with the athleticism gap between his team and some of the other top six teams in the West — such as Houston, San Antonio and Oklahoma City — but that is less about effort and more about the roster's construction. This is a team that waived Jordan Goodwin to clear roster space for veteran Marcus Smart, and Goodwin goes to Phoenix and thrives on an athletic roster.

2) The idea that the Lakers' biggest issue is just needing to play harder — "We don't care enough" or "it's making a choice" — both feels slightly outdated in today's high-paced NBA and is not going to play well in the locker room long-term. The "we just have to play harder" card is one a coach can only pull out once or twice a season, and Redick has pulled it out twice in the last week.

3) The Lakers roster was clearly going to struggle defensively even before the season tipped off — playing Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves (who is expected to miss time with calf soreness) and about-to-turn 41 LeBron James together was always going to be an issue. Dallas, a couple of years ago, showed the model for winning and reaching the NBA Finals with Luka Doncic — surrounding him with shooting, athleticism and defense — and the Lakers have not built to that model.

Redick isn't wrong trying to push his players, but the Lakers are what they are built to be. Redick can shift things around, but at the end of the game these are the cards he's been dealt. Welcome to coaching in the NBA.