In his first year as the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coach, JJ Redick surpassed all preseason expectations as he led the team to a 50-win season and the third seed in the Western Conference.
It’s an impressive feat for Redick given his previous lack of head coaching experience and Rui Hachimura revealed that he set a goal to win 50 games in the regular season. It was a lofty bar for Redick to climb, but it became even more of a challenge once injuries and changes to the roster occurred.
Regardless, Redick was able to overcome those obstacles and is now preparing for his first playoff series. Los Angeles will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one, an opponent that has the size, length and defense to give the team trouble.
Fortunately, Luka Doncic prevailed over the Timberwolves in the Western Conference Finals last year and Redick noted he and the coaching staff will lean on him during their preparation, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“In my playing career that happened a lot. There’s regular season and there’s playoffs and often times it’s not completely different things but there are nuances to what teams are trying to do against certain opponents. Greg [St. Jean] was on Phoenix last year and got swept by Minnesota –sorry, Greg. Just stating a fact– so he’s got a good level of experience as well. It was literally the thing he said to me as soon as the game was over, so we have a lot of work to do and they’re a really good basketball team.”
Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks dispatched Minnesota in five games last year, so he’s an excellent resource for Los Angeles to use as it begins its playoff preparations. Doncic is a one-man offensive engine that can generate a good look nearly every time down the floor, so it stands to reason that the Lakers will run everything through him.
Fortunately, Doncic will have more help this year as LeBron James and Austin Reaves are more than capable of spelling him when needed. Redick and his staff have their work cut out for them, but there’s plenty of reason for optimism as long as Doncic is playing at his peak.
JJ Redick calls Timberwolves a very difficult opponent for Lakers
As a former player, JJ Redick understands that every team in the playoffs will be a challenge. As far as the Timberwolves go, Redick called them a very difficult opponent for the Lakers.
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