That ‘terrible third-quarter team’ resurfaces

On the day before the Lakers opened their regular season, JJ Redick said what excited him most about a new year was “the chaos.”

- THỤC NHI NGUYEN

LEBRON JAMES, left, Bronny James and Rui Hachimura ride the pine on Tuesday at Crypto.​com Arena.

ERIC THAYER Los Angeles Times

It's the constant need to problem solve, to find new ways for his team to improve and to handle the grind of each game.

After the Lakers’ loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, that challenge has officially begun as the 119-109 setback gave a first glimpse at just how much the Lakers still have to grow.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Third-quarter struggles continue

A new season. The same problem.

The Lakers, whose third-quarter droughts last year forced Redick to plead with his players to do anything from rinse their mouths with mouthwash or retie their left shoes, again struggled coming out of the locker room after halftime Tuesday. After surging at the end of the second quarter to pull within one heading into halftime, the Lakers let the Warriors reel off an 18-4 run to begin the third quarter.

“That’s on us players, that’s not on the coaches,” guard Austin Reaves said. “They come and give us what we need, give us the answers to the test. ... We have to be better.”

Reaves scored just one of his 26 points in the third quarter, but came alive for 13 in the fourth when the Lakers closed a I7-point deficit to six.

Redick called the Lakers a “terrible third-quarter team to start.”