Basically the entire Los Angeles Lakers team had the same message coming out of Game 1 in that they had to do a better job of matching the physicality of the Minnesota Timberwolves. They did just that in Game 2, coming away with a hard-fought nine-point win.
The defense of the Lakers was far better on Tuesday night, holding the Timberwolves to just 85 points on 38% shooting from the field and head coach JJ Redick explained why that was.
“We were physical,” Redick said after the win. “The playoffs require a different level. Like I said pregame, it took us about two-and-a-half quarters in Game 1 to get to that level of physicality.”
That physicality is what led the Lakers to victory, but their offense still left a lot to be desired. The Lakers managed just 94 points, including an abysmal 13 points int he fourth quarter and shot 6-of-29 from 3-point range.
Many would call Game 2 a ‘rock fight’ as both teams struggled offensively, but Redick feels that after Game 1, both teams are mentally prepared for that kind of series.
“I think you could sort of anticipate that, but we weren’t ready for a rock fight to start Game 1,” Redick added. “I’ve seen enough of these and been in enough of these that you can have these low scoring games and sort of low offensive output games that are really physical, and then all of a sudden someone starts making 3s and there’s turnovers that leads to a high transition half and somebody scores 120. That’s just kind of how basketball works. Every game is a little different, but I think the mentality for both teams is to have the rock fight.”
It didn’t seem like it would be a ‘rock fight’ in the first half as the Lakers had 58 points and seemed to be clicking, but things fell apart, particularly in the fourth quarter. But Redick was still happy with the team’s shot quality and felt their defense carried them through the offensive issues.
“I don’t know what our turnover total [was]. I know we had at least one shot clock violation there in the fourth,” Redick said of the Lakers’ struggles in the second half. “I don’t know what our turnover total was in the second half, but I can think of five or six plays Bron (LeBron James) [had] twice from four feet in the paint, Rui [Hachimura] at the rim, Bron from the corner and Doe (Dorian Finney-Smith) had great looks from the corner. Again, we’re going to live with that process and that result.
“I think it’s fair to say we won the game with our defense tonight, but our offense had a lot to do with that. Not allowing them to get out in transition. Then, when they did as AR did late in the game taking the charge, we were able to stop them from scoring, or in some cases, stop them from maybe getting a quick shot up. Then they had to run a half-court offense. So, I just think that as much as it was the defense tonight, our offense actually helped quite a bit with some of the transition stuff.”
In the playoffs, what matters is the end result and the Lakers came away with a much-needed Game 2 victory. Now, it will be up to Redick to get this team to continue to embrace that same mentality going forward if they plan to escape past the Timberwolves in the first round.
Lakers coach JJ Redick explains viral third quarter tirade
It wasn’t just the Lakers players who had a different level of energy as mics caught head coach JJ Redick going off with a profanity-laced tirade after calling timeout in the third quarter. But Redick downplayed the situation after the game, saying he has done similar things in prior games while adding that he wanted to turn the Lakers’ urgency level up and ensure they remained organized.
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