Is JJ Redick the right choice to lead the Los Angeles Lakers? That was the question asked about a year ago, when the former player turned ESPN analyst was being considered for the head coach position. Now, that same question is being asked again after the Lakers’ elimination from the playoffs’ first round. Déjà vu. The 2024-25 NBA season was a roller-coaster ride for LeBron James and co, as it consisted of both ups and downs.
Throughout it all, however, Redick defied the haters by coming out as a high basketball IQ coach. Not everyone would have lifted him on a pedestal, though, as they were waiting for the day the coach’s inexperience caught up with him. From what Chris Finch, Julius Randle, and Reggie Miller revealed, that day finally came.
By securing a 4th win against the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs, the Minnesota Timberwolves now proceed to the Western Conference Semifinals. After the 103-96 win, Brian Windhorst called in for a discussion on ESPN’s Get Up about what went wrong for the Lakers. Without any hesitation, Windhorst said that JJ Redick coached “very immaturely in this series”.
This belief stemmed from the fact that, as Windhorst revealed, “He was still seething and upset about the previous games, to the point that Reggie Miller said on the broadcast last night he had to try to calm him down in the pre-game meeting because JJ was acting, you know, frankly childishly. He walked off and stormed off in the pre-game session with reporters. Regardless of the question, it’s not the way to start”.
Brian Windhorst calls out JJ Redick after the Lakers lost in 5 to the Timberwolves.
“Reggie Miller said on the broadcast last night he had to try to calm him down in the pregame meeting because JJ was acting, frankly, childishly.” pic.twitter.com/kRzpWvTE7j
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 1, 2025
Windhorst further added that the Lakers’ head coach also doubled down on his “frankly irrational decision” not to substitute for the entire half of a playoff game. On top of that, the ESPN personality could not comprehend Redick’s decision to utilize Maxi Kleber. After all, the last time Kleber had played was back in late January, after which he was out of the lineup upon getting surgery to treat his right foot. Despite his inexperience, Kleber was put on the court, with around 5 minutes to go, in a 2-possession game. In light of this, any respect that Windhorst had for JJ Redick seems to have gone with the wind.
Windhorst’s remarks came around the same time a pleased Chris Finch participated in the post-game presser. At the same time, he was asked about the depth and the versatility of the Wolves roster, and the value of having 10 different ways in which one can win a game in a playoff series. Chris Finch highlighted his belief that, as a coach, one feels pretty confident that almost every lineup combination is going to work in some way or another. In the end, it is up to the players to go out and execute the different coverages that the rival teams would force them to be in, or the different concepts in an offense. This thing, however, was not something that Finch was too worried about.
“Uh, you know, guys moved pretty easily between those things in this series. I thought um, as they threw, you know, different stuff at us” Finch revealed. “Um,but yeah I mean we got a great game”. Did you notice that ‘Got a great game part’? Yikes!
Being the first season in which he coached any NBA team, JJ Redick did not have too many expectations. Not laying too much on his shoulder was something that even LeBron James insisted people do before the season. However, that all changed once the Lakers secured the 3rd seed to earn a spot in the 2024-25 NBA playoffs. With the team having the dynamic offensive duo of LeBron James and Luka Doncic, along with a streak of wins backing them, hopes had risen. Unfortunately, the coach went on to make several mistakes throughout the playoffs, which contributed to the Lakers winning only 1 game in the series.
Redick reportedly became the first coach of the play-by-play era, ever to use only five players across an entire second half in a playoff game. After Game 4, Redick justified his decision by stating, “it wasn’t planned. But we just made the decision at halftime”. It was a question just about this very decision that caused Redick to get angry and leave in the middle of the Lakers’ pre-game presser. His exact words, before leaving, were “Are you saying that because I’m inexperienced? And that was an inexperienced decision I made? You think I don’t talk to my assistants about substitutions every single timeout?”.
As Brian Windhorst indicated, the insecurity got to him, and as Finch indicated, his strategies made the game easier for the Timberwolves. And it wasn’t just the coaches and the analysts who believed this. The realization that JJ Redick was unknowingly making the game easier for the Wolves also got to the players.
Julius Randle revealed realizing JJ Redick’s play strategies early on
During his post-game presser, Julius Randle made a major revelation. It all began when a reporter highlighted how Randle knew where to go when he wanted to get there. When questioned about it, Randle revealed, “Yeah, I mean, we started the series, in the beginning, we kind of knew, you know, their defense and, you know, scheme-wise how they liked to play. ” Of course, he went on to praise his generational teammate.
“So, I mean, it developed over the course of the series, but like, honestly like, we play next to (Anthony Edwards), like it make the game a lot easier. You know, I mean, cause they throw 2 or 3 people out on us. So, you gotta be, you know, willing to move and be in the right space on the floor. You know, you gotta be able to take advantage of that”.
Dec 13, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reacts after his team’s play against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
Believe it or not, but Anthony Edwards had publicly revealed knowing about this strategy days ago! After Game 4, the 23-year-old disclosed the Lakers’ strategy by stating, “They basically putting three people on me. Like, once I drive, they try to trap me. If I get around a trap, it’s the third guy coming up as a low man. So if you just equal out, and the dude, it’s three people on the left side, on the opposite weak side of the ball, and if the middle dude just cuts, then they got one person to guard two people.”
Even after this, if JJ Redick played Game 5 in the same manner, then the Lakers’ loss is really on his shoulders. After this elimination, JJ Redick himself said, “I know I can be better”. Well, he needs to get better, or he might end up getting the ‘Darvin Ham treatment’ sooner than expected.
The post All Is Not Well With JJ Redick as Lakers HC’s Childish Behavior Faces Scrutiny After Coach Finch’s Confession appeared first on EssentiallySports.