Lakers head coach JJ Redick is taking a much more direct coaching style compared to his predecessors. Even at halftime during the team’s latest matchup (against the San Antonio Spurs), Redick had to let everyone know just how bad their end-of-quarter execution has been over the last couple of games.
“I don’t want to end the quarter on a three like that,” said Redick. “Our end-of-quarter execution has been so bad the last couple of games, so bad!”
A pissed off JJ Redick interview at half time 👀 pic.twitter.com/gbd2Xz30le
— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) November 28, 2024
The Lakers were losers of three straight before tonight, against the Magic, Nuggets, and Suns. The Lakers had been really sloppy in those games and especially late in quarters — a trend continued tonight in the first 24 minutes despite an 11-point lead (58-47). Of course, Redick wasn’t all negative, and he did make sure to give his team credit for an exceptional defensive effort.
“Our defense was awesome the first half, it really was,” said Redick. “I thought our physicality was great our cover mentality was great, helping each other, but we have to be a little better without closeouts.”
On X, most fans weren’t surprised to see Redick speak out like this and many of them applauded him for holding his team accountable.
“Love his passion! He cares which is nice to see,” wrote one fan. “Stop with the turnovers!”
New head coach JJ Redick is only in his first season on the job, but he’s passionate about maximizing the Lakers’ potential on the court. He’s not afraid to speak his mind to the players and the media, and he proved it tonight when he called out his team in front of the whole world.
The Lakers are having trouble with consistency this season, and they can only seemingly play well for a stretch before falling back into old habits. This season, after a surprisingly hot start that pushed the Lakers as high as 3rd in the West, they are back down to 7th in a neck-and-neck race with the Phoenix Suns.
It remains to be seen which version of the Lakers is more accurate to their standing in the league but they are impossible to count out with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the fold.
For JJ Redick, the key to the Lakers’ success (among other things) is leaning how to close out the quarter. They’ve made a habit out of letting go of the rope down the stretch and it’s cost them too much already.
To address the issue, JJ will likely tell his guys to be more aggressive and decisive on the court, just like we saw from D’Angelo Russell in the first half when he was making plays all over the court.
Of course, Redick will also have to ensure that his team keeps focus for the entirety of the game to avoid extended stretches of bad basketball. Tonight, they managed to improve from their more recent games but they still have a long way to go before reaching maximum efficiency.
At the very least, with Redick in charge, the urgency is present for the Lakers to clean up their act on both ends and give LeBron the ending he deserves. So far, the players are rallying around his gameplan and the results have been positive so far with major areas of growth on both ends of the court.
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