In the lead-up to Tuesday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, JJ Redick shared some interesting details regarding his first conversations with Luka Doncic. Redick revealed in his pregame press conference that he had asked Doncic if he’d be comfortable with some tough coaching.
“Him and I communicated the very first day he got to LA,” Redick said. “It was just like, ‘Are you comfortable being coached with honesty?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ Are you comfortable being coached with direct communication?’ He said, ‘Yes, that’s what I want.’ I said, ‘Okay, great, then you and I are gonna be good,’ and it has been.”
While some might ridicule Redick for basically asking permission here, the fact of the matter is that, at least to some extent, you have to coach the superstars the way they want to be coached. If a head coach uses the “my way or the highway” approach on them, they’re unlikely to be in the job for too long.
Fortunately for Redick, Doncic was on board with his style of coaching. What also probably helped him in this situation is the fact that they were previously teammates on the Mavericks. They appear to have gotten along fairly well during that time, so much so that Doncic showed up on Redick’s podcast, The Old Man and the Three, on two separate occasions.
The positive relationship likely meant Doncic wouldn’t have as much trouble hearing some hard truths from Redick as compared to a coach he didn’t really know. So, there were a lot of factors working in the 40-year-old’s favor when he put forth those questions.
As for this game Redick was speaking before, the Lakers would go on to win 107-99 in Doncic’s first outing against the Mavericks. The five-time All-Star would have been going through a lot emotionally on the night, and Redick stated postgame that he felt he handled it well.
“I thought he handled it well,” Redick said. “Not a great shooting night, but made a lot of plays and had some good defensive plays as well. I just thought he clearly was worked up to start the game. That’s to be expected, but I thought he settled in.”
Doncic finished with 19 points (6-17 FG), 15 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals, and two blocks against the Mavericks. The 25-year-old did not shoot well, but Redick felt his shooting struggles were down to some organizational and spacing issues.
Doncic started off like a house on fire but cooled down eventually. That played a part in the Mavericks getting back into the contest, but LeBron James took over in the fourth quarter to ensure that the Lakers were the ones emerging victorious.
With the win, the Lakers improved to 35-21 this season, and they are within touching distance of the second seed in the West. The decision to hire Redick was questioned by many, considering his lack of experience, but he has shut the doubters up in some style.
Redick and the Lakers will now go in search of a fourth win in a row when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday at 10:30 PM ET.
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