The Los Angeles Lakers look much improved as a team in this pre-season. However, take whatever happens in the pre-season with a pinch of salt. From what we can see, it is clear that Darwin Ham and JJ Redick are ‘light years apart’ as basketball coaches. Darwin Ham had nothing substantial with his coaching methods, and perhaps, some of his ways even had LeBron James find it challenging to adapt the same.
However, from what we can see from this pre-season, the players, including Anthony Davis and LeBron James, are both warming up to Redick’s coaching method. After all, Redick is a brilliant basketball mind who is now finally executing all the ideas he had discussed on the ‘Mind the Game’ podcast. Though it remains to be seen what Redick does in the 82 games of the regular season, we can already see the Lakers implementing ghost screens, guards setting actual screens, and running so many more plays that hint that the Lakers are up for serious business.
The question about JJ Redick handling the reins of this Lakers team is, Can he lead the team in the right direction? There is a difference between being a great basketball mind and leading the locker room. This is not a new thing for coaches to do. Other veteran coaches, such as Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, have all done the same during their time with the Lakers. However, not all new coaches handle this pressure the same way. It remains to be seen how AD and LeBron James warm up to JJ Redick, especially given that Redick used to be James’s counterpart both in the league and in his podcast. While LeBron James provides input, it’s up to JJ Redick to lead the team in the right direction, even after James’ retirement.
Last season, the Lakers played pretty decent while having Darwin Ham as a coach. Though the team did not cross the 50-game win mark, they did make it to the playoffs, where they had to struggle against the Denver Nuggets. Of course, facing a tough opponent like the Nuggets wasn’t something LA was looking for. The Lakers’ main contention has always been around the Playoffs, crashing out in the First Round last season and in the Western Conference Finals the year before.
The talent level in the team hasn’t improved at all. Leaving AD and LeBron aside, it’s the same team as last year, but with a coach having a better vision and mission for the team. Based on the pre-season, it does seem likely that JJ Redick can make the team grow and look better than they were in the previous few seasons. A lot depends on the different plays and schemes that the coach runs to make this team a good contender in the NBA.
Redick has been drawing schemes and plays for players such as Rui Hachimura, Max Christie, and Cam Reddish, with the common thing between them all being they are capable three-point shooters. However, the concern remains that one cannot depend on these players to be reliable from beyond the arc every night. Redick’s coaching has allowed these players to create opportunities and find open spaces to take the shot. However, the team’s shooting troubles remain, especially since the Lakers had attempted only 31.1 threes per game last season but with a 37.7% accuracy, which was ninth-best in the league.
JJ Redick has been a huge advocate of three-pointers and said he would like the team to attempt more threes. In their recent pre-season game against the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers shot 40 threes, making 11 of them, with a shooting percentage of 27.5%. Crunching such numbers isn’t the best indicator of guaranteed success. Though the Lakers are pretty dangerous from the mid-range, that doesn’t count enough to compete against teams such as the Celtics, which are high-volume three-point scoring teams.
The Lakers can count on Austin Reaves and rookie Dalton Knecht for splashing triples, though Redick’s efforts seem noble in increasing the team’s three-point volume. In the pre-season game against the Phoenix Suns, Knecht went nuclear, scoring 35 points and 8 of his 13 attempted threes. However, Dalton’s volume of attempted threes might be a concern. In one pre-season game, Knech went 2-13 from threes, which is unusual for a rookie. But his five years in college gave him the sense and confidence he needed to try his luck in the league.
The Lakers team might not have improved with a better roster. However, they do have better coaching and plans and schemes going forward. The season should be interesting for the Lakers fans to watch JJ Redick implement his basketball mind into practice with this team and lead them at least to the playoffs and 50-game win mark.
