Since JJ Redick took over as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, the players have credited him for having set rotations and substitution patterns so they know when they are going in the game.
With it being so early in the season though, that doesn’t mean that Redick won’t make tweaks if he feels he can improve his rotation.
That was the case in Friday night’s win over the Toronto Raptors and Redick switched up the minutes of his starting backcourt. To start the season, LeBron James and D’Angelo Russell had been the first ones to sub out in the first quarter with Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis staying on for a majority of the frame.
Against Toronto though, Redick switched it up so Reaves subbed out first while Russell stayed on with Davis and the second unit, giving him an opportunity to operate with the ball in his hands more.
It seemed to work as Davis had one of his best games, as did Russell, who finished with 19 points, three rebounds and six assists.
After the game, Redick discussed that rotation change and the reason behind it, via Jovan Buha of The Athletic:
JJ Redick said he adjusted the rotation tonight to put the ball in D’Angelo Russell’s hands more next to Anthony Davis. That also resulted in Austin Reaves and LeBron James playing more together, with Redick noting their two-man chemistry.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) November 2, 2024
Austin Reaves said that JJ Redick approached him and D’Angelo Russell this morning about adjusting the rotation and both were on board with the change. https://t.co/D7h7qSqfhp
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) November 2, 2024
Redick will likely continue to experiment moving forward until he finds what works best for the Lakers, especially with injured players like Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood set to return at some point.
The hope is that he will be able to settle on something quickly though so the Lakers players can get comfortable in their respective roles, which is something Redick is very familiar with considering he is a former player himself.
JJ Redick discusses second half slippage against Raptors
While JJ Redick’s rotation change did wonders in the first half against the Raptors as the team jumped out to a 26-point lead, they struggled in the second half and let an inferior opponent back in the game. Redick discussed what went wrong for the Lakers after halftime while also giving credit to Toronto.
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