JJ Redick treated the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason finale as a dress rehearsal on Friday night, playing regular rotations for a majority of the game for the first time.
That included selecting a fifth starter to replace the injured LeBron James alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton.
The decision came as a bit of a surprise as Redick chose Gabe Vincent, who is having an exceptional preseason but is one of the smallest players on the roster.
Redick explained why he chose Vincent, although he also cautioned that this lineup may not last more than one game with things constantly changing.
“I don’t know anything about who I’m going to be starting the rest of the season because, again, there’s injuries and there’s things that happen throughout a year,” Redick said. “I have a pretty good idea who’s going to start Game 1. After that, I don’t know. But I do think in that lineup there’s lot of shooting around Luka and DA, and Gabe is another ball handler, another tough defender. I think he fits in well, but you have to take a look at every matchup we play against and have to make a decision there.”
The Lakers face the Golden State Warriors on Opening Night, so having Vincent on the floor to chase Stephen Curry around those screens makes some sense.
While the Lakers’ starting lineup struggled defensively on Friday against the Kings, there’s no denying that Vincent boosts that group offensively with the spacing he provides. The guard finished with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the loss.
After the game, Vincent revealed when he found out he would be starting.
“I found out this morning about tonight. We’ll see what happens on Tuesday,” he said. “But I found out this morning, got some reps with the unit this morning and it was fun to be out there.”
Vincent also discussed what he feels he can bring to that group.
“I think I just bring what I’ve been doing since I’ve been here,” Vincent said. “Just defending, try to defend at a high level. Playmake when I have opportunities, space the floor while Luka and [Austin Reaves] are creating themselves.”
James is expected to be out until mid-November, so Redick could test out a few different lineups between now and then based on matchups with Vincent getting the initial nod.
Lakers coach JJ Redick praises Gabe Vincent’s preseason
Even before Friday night’s game, JJ Redick has been impressed with the preseason Gabe Vincent is having.
“Yeah, he’s been fantastic,” Redick said. “Really as an on-ball guy. He’s created advantages for us, I think his movement in early offense sets and then his movement in our half-court has been really good. I think he’s pushing himself right now to get in fantastic shape and be able to do that, sustain that, for a longer period. That would be the goal for him.”
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