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The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a 3-1 series hole to the Minnesota Timberwolves following a 116-113 loss on Sunday. In a highly competitive game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick decided to play his stars the entire second half, drawing criticism from fans.
But fans were not the only ones who vehemently opposed Redick's strategy.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst chimed in on Get Up.
“Really, what happened here is JJ Redick gambled and failed,” Windhorst said.
“He went with those guys down the stretch. Luka is 36 hours off of vomiting all day. He ran out of gas late. LeBron is 40 years old, playing a game on a Sunday afternoon after playing a game on a Friday night. He ran out of gas late. They can say whatever they want; it was blatant.”
Game 4 between the Lakers and Timberwolves was incredibly physical. Players were jawing, shoving, and getting into each other throughout. Yet, the Lakers found themselves leading by 10 points heading into the fourth quarter.
Instead of getting his stars a little rest, Redick opted to play LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith all 24 minutes of the second half.
“They played well enough to win, they gave the effort to win,” Redick said after the loss.
“It's not a planned thing to play five guys the entire second half. I asked them at the beginning of the fourth quarter, I told them we have two extra timeouts. If you need a sub, let us know.”
But isn't it the head coach's job to put his players in the best position to succeed? Of course, professional athletes are not going to ask out of the game. He let them get bulldozed by a younger, deeper Timberwolves team.
Data even supports Windhorst's theory that the Lakers wore down.
James, who had scored 27 points through three quarters, was held scoreless in the fourth. Doncic, despite finishing with 38 points, looked lethargic late in the loss. Even Reaves, who missed most of the first half in foul trouble, missed several open looks late. It is the second straight game in which the Lakers were outscored by double digits in the fourth quarter.
Redick's decision seems to imply that he felt this game was a must-win for the Lakers. But it was not.
Los Angeles heads back home with two full days of rest. If they can win Game 5 at Crypto.com Arena, the pressure shifts squarely on the Timberwolves back in Minnesota.
Historically, teams trailing 3-1 in an NBA Playoff series have only come back to win the series 13 times. But one of those was captained by LeBron in the 2016 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
Game 5 will tip off Wednesday at 7:00 pm PT.
