JJ Redick's epic meeting with Lakers roster before training camp
Yesterday at 10:46 PM
The Los Angeles Lakers field pretty much the same roster as last year, but watching them feels like a completely different team, and credit goes to rookie head coach JJ Redick. For instance, they didn’t stumble out of the gate as in the past couple of seasons, even going 3-0 against playoff teams. While they did go 1-4 in their first road trip, they won their next two games to go 6-4 heading into their matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies, without Ja Morant. Still, rookie coach JJ Redick’s may have turned the Lakers around before the season started, and even before training camp.
On the eve of training camp, the coach gathered the roster to a dinner where he and his coaching staff presented a system that would play to their players’ strengths, while explaining what he wants the team’s identity to be on both sides of the ball to achieve success.
The Lakers try to turn things around
Moreover, their new coach’s detail-oriented approach impressed the Lakers’ roster; Cam Reddish mentioned the differences between Darvin Ham and JJ Redick. Likewise, Austin Reaves mentioned the seriousness with which the new coaching staff approached the season.
“It just showed the dedication that not just him but the coaching staff has, in coming in and doing the right stuff,” Reaves said, via Dave McMenamin for ESPN. “Setting that foundation of what we’re going to do stuff the right way and if we do that, we can be a really good team.”
Besides attention to detail, the new coach has also shown his willingness to adapt to situations. After the Lakers fell to 4-4, JJ Redick benched D’Angelo Russell and inserted Cam Reddish into the starting lineup.
Reddish as the starting two-guard provided size and athleticism for the Purple and Gold backcourt, who lacked the athletic ability and foot speed to keep up with opposing teams’ guards. Meanwhile, D’Lo moving to the bench gave some offensive firepower to a bench unit that could not throw the ball into the ocean.
Additionally, the Lakers finally recognized Anthony Davis as their best player. As the centerpiece of their offense, he has put up MVP numbers as the new primary option, averaging 31.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in nine games.
Lingering issues
However, fixing the Lakers is not instant, and their problems from the Darvin Ham years still linger. For instance, LA still has poor transition offense, as Raptors forward Ochai Agbaji noted before their game on Sunday.
LA’s defensive effort also flags at times, particularly when they build a sizable lead, allowing the opponents to stay in games and even come back to win. One of the things the team has to do is find consistency, which should translate to more wins under their new coach.
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