JJ Redick calls out D'Angelo Russell for not playing in Lakers' loss

If the NBA season becomes a marathon, Lakers coach JJ Redick may reconsider his commitment to running.

He looked unhappy and frustrated after the Lakers lost 131-114 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, ending his postgame press conference with an angry microphone.

The team was shorthanded with Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura unavailable, but Redick's frustration seemed to stem from his players' on-court performance, particularly that of D'Angelo Russell.

The Lakers guard put in a tough performance, finishing the game with 12 points, three assists and one rebound in 22 minutes of play. Russell played just six minutes in the third quarter and sat on the bench the rest of the evening. After the game, Redick explained why.

“Just the level of competition, the attention to detail, some of the things we've been talking to him about for a few weeks,” Redick said. “And sometimes he was really good at it, and sometimes he just reverted to certain habits that we wanted to go down.

Last season, there were only five games in which Russell played 22 minutes or less. Four of those games came while he was on the bench, which the team and Russell apparently didn't like.

With Redick limiting Russell's play and also challenging him, I wonder how the rest of the players and Russell will take this.

This could quickly become a very delicate situation.

So far, Redick has spoken fondly of D'Lo, even calling him one of the most vocal leaders on the team, but dynamics can change in an instant, and with actions and statements like these, you never know how they'll be received.

Even though Redick and Russell get along wonderfully, it's not a good sign that Russell's performance was so poor that he was benched.

Given that the Lakers' reserve team offers no offensive support, playing elsewhere to produce seems like a damning statement on one's game.

Russell has been through it all as a Laker, surviving trade rumors and tensions with coaches, so I'm sure he'll do his best on the field.

Still, it's a situation worth keeping an eye on, considering he's in the final year of his contract, underperforming, and the Lakers appear to have issues he can't solve.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.