On Friday night, JJ Redick decided that it was time to shake things up for the Los Angeles Lakers after sustaining three double-digit defeats over their past four games. Redick opted to bring D'Angelo Russell, coming off a lackluster game in their loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, off the bench in favor of Cam Reddish, and suffice to say, this change worked, at least for one game, as they took a 116-106 win over the struggling Philadelphia 76ers.
It's not quite clear how long Redick will be sticking with this new starting lineup. But at the very least, the Lakers head coach seems to be very pleased with the response he saw from Russell in a demotion that would have been frustrating for others to take.
In his postgame presser, the Lakers head coach, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, “praised the professional approach” that Russell brought to the game as well as the “pop” that he brought to the second-unit's offense. Redick even called Russell, as well as the newly-promoted Reddish, “stars” in the respective roles they played in the win over the 76ers, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
The Lakers' starting lineup change will garner the most attention following their win on Friday night and Russell deserves plenty of credit for responding well to this change. His 18 points off the bench, as McMenamin pointed out, is tied for the most anyone has scored off the Lakers bench this season, and the team will be looking towards Russell to continue giving them this kind of production from the reserves.
Lakers get back on track as JJ Redick stands on business
JJ Redick may not be a miracle worker, but through the first three games of the season, the Lakers looked like a much-improved team despite bringing mostly the same cast of players that they had last season. But as the Lakers have fallen off a bit, Redick did not waste much time in introducing a change that he believes is beneficial for the team, at least in the interim.
Cam Reddish gives the Lakers more size to deal with opposing perimeter players, and without D'Angelo Russell in the starting lineup, the ball can be in the hands of Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves more often. Meanwhile, Russell can commandeer the offense from the bench, and indeed, it resulted in a comfortable win for the Lakers over the 76ers.
It helps the Lakers that everyone was clicking on Friday night. Davis returned from a one-game absence due to his nagging foot injury, and it was as if he did not miss time, dropping 31 points in another MVP-esque effort. Meanwhile, James was in control all night long, tallying his second triple-double of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists.
Reaves also couldn't miss; the Lakers' nominal point guard finished with 20 points on the night on 7-13 shooting from the field (6-10 from beyond the arc), as the entire team took advantage of a rather lackluster 76ers team that was without its two best players in Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.