The Los Angeles Lakers have already seen some major benefits from having JJ Redick as their new head coach. They are 10-6 through 16 games, better than they have been in each of the last few seasons to this point, and they have the fourth-best offense in basketball via offensive rating.
But where they have really struggled is on defense. Saturday night’s collapse loss to the Denver Nuggets highlighted what was already known as an issue, which is that the Lakers are not good defensively. Prior to games beginning on Sunday, L.A. ranked 27th in the NBA in defensive rating. They are the only team in the bottom nine with a winning record.
And Redick knows that it’s a massive thing the Lakers need to work on. But he also knows it’s not just a player or a coach issue, it’s something that needs to be figured out team-wide.
“Some of coaching is playing whack a mole,” Redick said. “You have to address weaknesses. Certainly did some of that stuff yesterday in film and on the court and felt pretty good about our overall just process and game plan coming into tonight. And all us just, we didn’t execute it.
“But in terms of the defensive stuff, and I told the group this yesterday, like we can point to whatever we want to point to. Me and my staff will take some ownership on that as well. It’s not just players not executing the game plan. It’s all of us, like we’re we’re all on the same team. We all want the same outcome. We all want to be a good defensive team. So we’ve got to figure out that together.”
Redick has shown very early on that he is a more-than-capable NBA head coach. But like the team itself, he is going to go through some growing pains. And one of those pains is going to be figuring out how to improve defensively. And they need to do so in a hurry, because their record looks to be a mirage among the other bad defensive teams.
Michael Malone praises JJ Redick
Ahead of their matchup against the Lakers, Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone had high praise for JJ Redick.
“This is not a cop out because I think JJ in his first year as a head coach is doing a hell of a job,” Malone said. “Most first-year head coaches take over teams that are not built to win now. Most first-year head coaches have taken over teams that are almost starting a new. I would compare it to when Mike Brown took over in Cleveland with LeBron and that team was ready to win.
“So I think JJ is doing a hell of a job. But to compare JJ versus Darvin, this year to last year, I would be remiss to kind of speak on that because I was watching Dallas film and then I was watching our game after on the plane last night and then you turn the page quickly and get ready for tonight. But obviously we know that they still excel in transition, that’s where they’re great. They dominate in the paint, they live at the foul line. And you have two All-NBA players in LeBron and AD and then you surround them with guys like Austin Reaves, who is a winner, tough kid, tough matchup. A hell of a rookie in Dalton Knecht, who’s a Colorado kid by the way. And then Rui Hachimura, who is coming back tonight, and all of the other pieces that they have.
“JJ has got a really good group of guys to work with and when you have a guy like LeBron that you can play through every night, who has one of the best IQs that I’ve ever been around, that’s such an advantage for a young coach like JJ. I’ll have a better answer next time, I promise.”
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