JJ Redick discussed some of the plans he has in place for his first season as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, during his recent appearance on The Lowe Post. At one point in the episode, host Zach Lowe brought up Redick’s past comment about wanting LeBron James to play off the ball, and he clarified what he meant by that.
“It’s funny, because I think when people hear that in regards to LeBron playing off the ball, it doesn’t mean he’s not gonna have the ball,” Redick said. “LeBron is one of the smartest players and I think using him as a screener and finding ways to get him the ball in specific spots on the floor where he can be a facilitator and scorer, that’s what I mean by being off the ball.
“I don’t mean LeBron is gonna walk the ball up and get ball pressure at 94 feet and he’s gonna run a high pick-and-roll every time,” Redick continued. “… That’s not how we’re gonna play.”
Making LeBron operate as a screener from time to time and getting him the ball in specific areas of the court to cause havoc, are good ideas. You don’t want the 39-year-old to have the ball at all times at this stage of his career, especially when the team does have some able ball-handlers and playmakers around him.
Both D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves can be relied upon to ease the load on LeBron and they did just that last season. The 20-time All-Star had a usage rate of 29.7% in 2023-24, which was the second-lowest of his career after his rookie season.
That rate might go down a bit further next season, but LeBron should still be able to put up big numbers. The four-time NBA champion averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game last season and I’d expect more of the same moving forward.
Having less of a load over the course of the campaign should also keep LeBron fresher for playoffs, which is when the Lakers need him to be at his best. If he is hampered in any way when they get to the postseason, any and all hopes they might have of winning it all would be gone.
JJ Redick Revealed What The Lakers’ Offense Will Look Like Next Season
With this being Redick’s first head coaching job, many have wondered how he plans to run the ship. Well during this episode, Redick shared some details about what the Lakers’ offense will look like next season.
“In terms of what the offense looks like, there will be a decent amount of movement,” Redick said. “The shot profile will hopefully improve. We talked about ways to create more paint touches, we talked about ways to shoot more threes, we talked about some of the leeway that you have to give certain players with their mid-range shots, whether that’s in the post or isolation. But hopefully, the shot profile improved.
“From a possession standpoint, one of the margins this team created last year and historically with this group, has been free throws,” Redick continued. “Outside of that there hasn’t been a lot of margin creation, so we’re going to try to create some margins.
“One of which is, we’re really going to emphasize offensive rebounding, corner crashes,” Reddick added. “… I’m not comparing that to any previous coach or previous system, but those are some of the things that will look like a team that I coach.”
Redick does have the right ideas, but a lot of these things are easier said than done. The Lakers should have a lot of success if they are able to pull all of this off, though, but that’s a big if.
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