Lakers’ JJ Redick faces defining test against…
OKLAHOMA CITY — Over the course of NBA historical past, there have been spectacular teaching performances.
Rick Carlisle inserting J.J. Barea into the Mavericks’ beginning lineup in the center of the 2011 NBA Finals against the Heat’s “Big 3” is one.
Lakers coach JJ Redick has led the franchise to back-to-back 50-win seasons. Getty Images
Trailing 2-1 to the Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals before Steve Kerr inserted Andre Iguodala into the Warriors’ beginning lineup is another.
But for Lakers coach JJ Redick, defeating the reigning champion Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals without Luka Doncic would possibly top them all.
Redick has shown promise in his first two years as a head coach at any stage. He’s guided the Lakers to back-to-back 50-win seasons. He led the wounded Lakers to a first-round upset over the Rockets without his main scorers. That’s not unintended. That’s real teaching.
But beating the reigning champion Thunder? This task is different.
For Redick to do the unattainable, he must show that he can outthink a machine.
A cold, exact and relentless machine.
But don’t take our phrase for it. Take Redick’s. He said it out loud.
“The Thunder are one of the greatest teams ever in NBA history. That’s just the reality, they’re that good,” a brutally trustworthy Redick said. “They are a well-oiled machine.”
NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is an element of “one of the greatest teams ever in NBA history,” Redick said of the Thunder. NBAE via Getty Images
Part of what makes that machine transfer is that the Thunder don’t just beat you — they suffocate you to death. They pressure turnovers, they clog passing lanes, they swap on the perimeter, and when you strive to drive to the basket, they’ll block your shot back to last week.
And as Redick identified, they do all of that without committing fouls.
“They’re top five in every disruptive category … and they don’t foul,” Redick said.
Read between the strains, and that’s not analysis, that’s a warning flare to the officers.
It provides off classic Phil Jackson vibes. Say one thing to the media loud enough that it echoes into the officiating crew’s unconscious. Redick is aware of he’ll need every little edge he can get to beat OKC, and in the playoffs, edges don’t exist unless you manufacture them.
Because on paper, there isn’t a single space in which OKC is weak.
“They don’t have a weakness,” Redick admitted.
He’s proper. The Thunder are younger, fast and deep. They defend without fouling. They can kill you in the half court or in transition. They defend the rim. They shoot 3s at a high clip. They guard the perimeter. And they’ve the reigning MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who can glide to the paint like a whisper and shoot free throws like clockwork. Around the league, they call him “the foul merchant.”
Redick sees it. Opposing coaches see it. But the query is: Can you stop it?
Redick was requested how the Lakers can win this collection. His reply was plain and simple.
“Belief, attention to detail and poise.”
Simple phrases that disguise an unattainable task. For the Lakers to win this collection, they need to shoot larger than 40% from 3. They have to defend at an elite stage against the best offense in basketball. They need to restrict their live-ball turnovers, and they need to stop the Thunder’s runs before they blink and are down double digits.
They failed at all three in Game 1.
“They’re really good at runs … limiting their runs is going to be really important,” Redick said.
Easier said than finished. Like threading a needle in the center of a hurricane.
If Redick leads the Lakers to victory over the Thunder, particularly without Luka Doncic, it might be the teaching efficiency of a lifetime. NBAE via Getty Images
Similar to his gamers on the court, there’s no margin for error for Redick when teaching. Everything he does must be excellent to beat OKC. The timing of his timeouts. His rotation gambles. Trusting the best participant to keep on the court for one additional minute. Subbing out the mistaken one a possession too late. To win the collection, it received’t be about schemes or X’s and O’s. It’s about the little choices he makes in short five-second home windows that will come with penalties that will reverberate for quarters.
Unfortunately for Redick, he might coach brilliantly and the Lakers will still lose in 5.
That’s not a failure, either. That’s actuality.
The Lakers have been swept by the Thunder in the common season by an average of almost 30 factors per sport. It’s the biggest margin of victory by any groups in a playoff collection in NBA historical past. That didn’t magically disappear in Game 1 when they misplaced by 18.
So for Redick, what defines success at the end of this collection?
Steal a sport and you’ve disrupted the narrative for a day.
Win two and you’ve earned respect.
Push it to seven and we would need to change the Coach of the Year Award winner this season.
Win the collection and we are able to enshrine him into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame tomorrow.
Because if Redick upsets this model of the Thunder without Doncic, then it isn’t just an upset, it’s the best teaching efficiency of all time. It can be studied and analyzed endlessly.
Until then, Redick is staring straight into the attention of a storm, clipboard in hand, attempting to outthink a well-oiled machine that crushes all the pieces in its path.
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