Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick may not have a preseason win under his belt yet, but his impact is being felt both on and off the court.
Redick has brought attention to detail and competitive fire to a Lakers organization that desperately needed it, but is also doing a good job of implementing his preferred style of play. As a knockdown shooter in the NBA, Redick predictably has skewed more toward the offensive end though that’s not a bad thing as Los Angeles seems to be acclimating well.
The modern NBA dictates teams shoot more threes, and Redick has bought into that philosophy as he’s encouraged his players to let it fly from beyond the arc. After the team’s second preseason game against the Phoenix Suns when they attempted 40 triples, Redick noted how he wanted to see even more attempts from distance.
“Screening was something that I really emphasized and I thought in the first half, we did a good job screening,” Redick said. “That allowed us to get some layups, it allowed us to get some 3s, it allowed us to get some overreactions to the basketball.
“To be clear, I’m OK with paint 2s in any facet. I don’t think you want to live on a diet of 10-15 foot floaters a game, particularly if you don’t have Jalen Brunson on your team. If you look at it, for us and our group to take 40 3s in a game, that’s promising. We can get it up to 50, hopefully. But 40 was good.”
Redick later admitted 50 attempts was a poor joke, but did note that 40 attempts seems to be a good target for the roster.
“I was joking about 50,” Redick said after practice on Tuesday. “I think 40 is a lot, but if you’re generating good ones that’s a great number. I would like us to average five or six more threes a game, but you have to be conscientious about how we’re generating those threes.
“I actually think we’ve done a pretty good job of getting good looks, though there was a couple forced ones in transition off of the dribble in the first half and then there was a couple of offensive rebounds in the second half that I thought maybe we could’ve kept the ball movement moving and got a better shot. But I like the mindset overall to shoot when set and shoot good threes.”
Against the Suns, Los Angeles was still aggressive hunting 3-point shots but did it in a way that was more in line with the flow of the offense. After the game, Redick noted he was happy with the improvements which included the quality of 3-point attempts the team got.
As the preseason continues, expect Redick to continue hammering home the importance of spacing and outside shooting.
JJ Redick explains why he revealed starting lineup
Normally, head coaches will be coy when it comes to their starting lineups but JJ Redick had no problem announcing his five. He later explained that he simply didn’t care to hide it and that it provides clarity for the players.
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