When JJ Redick took the Lakers coaching job, the adrenaline of the challenge and discomfort was at the center of his decision. In less than two years, he is quickly finding out the nerve-wracking part of leading an all-time great franchise. Seething and screeching have almost established him as an angry young coach. Redick cares too much, perhaps without sizing up the actual capacity of his roster, at least Zach Lowe considers so.

In the last three games, Redick has said that quiet part out loud. He has charged his players for not caring much, unprofessionalism, and called them a terrible team. Redick is a perfectionist and and according to Lowe, the Lakers coach was expecting a title-contending production from a team that was just accidental.

“I know JJ Redick cares. It’s his job to care for 82 games,” Lowe said on his “The Zach Lowe Show.” “Is it okay that I just don’t care? And here’s why I just don’t care.

“None of this was ever supposed to happen. This team was never supposed to exist in this way. And once it was enabled to exist in this way by Nico Harrison, it was never entitled to be a title contender right now.”

The Lakers are certainly a better team compared to last season. They only acquired Luka Dončić earlier this year, and expecting a below-average defensive team to be elite is rushing them toward a mid-season locker-room breakdown, something that is already starting to happen.

“You don’t you don’t have one type of mid-tier title contender, which is how the Lakers fancied themselves with Anthony Davis and LeBron,” Lowe added. “Luck into this gift from the heavens of completely rearranging one mid-tier title contender, creating another, except some of the leftover pieces they only match team A, but not new team B, and all of a sudden contend for titles in a loaded Western Conference when you were built around LeBron, but now you’re built around Luka.

“This is all like gravy and yeah, they got to figure out how to build going forward.”

The Lakers don’t have length; they are at a big disadvantage on the defensive end with their roster, and they don’t have a great backup center. On top of that, they are one of the oldest teams in the league this year. These are not the tissues of a championship-contending team.

JJ Redick’s frustration can’t bring wins; the Lakers need a roster change

The Lakers’ struggles in big games and their current terrible run are nothing new. It has almost become synonymous with them. The script has been similar in the last few seasons. They go on a winning streak like a title contender and then fail like a below-average team. The only reason JJ Redick is getting worked up is that he is too new to these waves.

The opening quarter against the Rockets on Thursday was complete drama, and Redick almost had a complete meltdown. He called a timeout in just over five minutes into the game, and the second timeout within a minute.

The Rockets were simply torching the Lakers’ starting lineup on defense. They have three great guards, but not one is great defensively. They have a big man, but he is not a defensive big man.

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LeBron James, at age 41, can’t be relied on for defense, and Luka Doncic comes with an inherent taxation on the team’s defense. It’s not a conundrum, neither for the front office, nor for Redick, that they need change, a big change. But it is highly unlikely to happen this season.

The best option for Redick is to recalibrate his roster and make some tough decisions, including starting Jarred Vanderbilt and giving consistent good minutes to Jake LaRavia. These young legs might not bring much offense, but they can add to their crippled defense.