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The biggest subplot of the Los Angeles Lakers' offseason was their search for a new head coach following their decision to dismiss Darvin Ham from his position. In the end, the Lakers decided that bringing in first-time head coach JJ Redick, following a fruitful stint as a podcaster and as an on-air analyst, was for the best. And the results of their opening night game against the Minnesota Timberwolves certainly vindicate this decision after they took a convincing 110-103 win.
Redick has been renowned in league circles for having one of the best basketball minds out there, and he has been hard at work at maximizing the personnel the Lakers have at their disposal after opting to run it back following two straight playoff defeats at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. In particular, Redick intends to get the best out of Anthony Davis, and Davis responded by dropping 36 points and 16 rebounds — dominating the Timberwolves in the process.
While Davis deserves plenty of credit for being the monster that led the Lakers to an opening night triumph, Redick saw how everyone contributed by buying into the game plan he set that allowed him to get the first win of his head coaching career under his belt.
“I thought overall, our guys really did a phenomenal job of executing our game plan,” Redick said following the Lakers' win, per Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet.
Indeed, it was a collective effort from the Lakers on both ends of the floor that led to their win over the Timberwolves. Four other players, led by LeBron James, scored in double figures, while the entire team was diligent in running actions that enabled the Lakers' offense to hum despite shooting 5-30 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc on the night.
Moreover, they outhustled the Timberwolves and forced plenty of turnovers; the Lakers scored 19 points off Minnesota giveaways. The ball was also moving, and the onus wasn't just on James to create offense. The team had 22 assists, with only four of those coming from James.
The sample size may be small, but the Lakers look like a transformed team, with Redick deserving plenty of credit for putting his vision to practice.
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Social media fawns over Lakers' new-look offense
The Lakers' offense under Darvin Ham seemed to get worse the deeper they went into his tenure as head coach. They had a habit of going away from organized offense to end games, which meant that Anthony Davis had fewer touches and LeBron James (as well as the team's other guards) needed to make something out of nothing more often.
JJ Redick, meanwhile, has stressed the importance of moving with purpose to create space for every player on the court to operate. Even Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch had to give the Lakers their due props for executing as well as they did. According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Finch noticed that their offense looked “more modern” with better passing and movement and a greater emphasis on “wrinkles for shooters”.
The challenge now is for Redick to sustain his messaging and for the Lakers' players to continue buying in.
