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OKLAHOMA CITY — After Sunday’s 126-99 loss, Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams and his teammate Chet Holmgren shared their opinion on Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick’s career change from podcast host to head coach. After Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault shared his blunt take on losing to the Lakers, Williams and Holmgren addressed Redick’s coaching style in his first season as Los Angeles’s head coach.
Williams, a guest on Redick’s podcast last season, says his appearance in an episode was good publicity for the third-year forward. He also commended the Lakers’ head coach for his basketball IQ.
“I’m happy for him getting the coaching job,” Williams said. “He’s a good basketball mind, and he’s a good coach for them. And I’m pretty sure that with the pod that brought me a lot of attention. Was that last year? Yeah. I just think that brought a lot of good attention on me playing well.”
Holmgren, who didn’t appear on Redick’s podcast last season, was impressed with how the first-year head coach got all his players to buy in.
“He’s smart. He knew what he was doing with the pod,” Holmgren said. “He was basically using that as a study hall for being a coach. He was talking to all the coaches, all the players, and using that as a way to get to everybody. And then, he took that knowledge, and now he’s coaching. From playing against him, you can tell he’s a good coach. Good X’s and O’s, makes adjustments. So, credit to him, and from what I heard, he’s a good dude, too. I haven’t had too many individual interactions with him.”
Still, Chet Holmgren is looking forward to the Thunder’s rematch on Tuesday.
“Good team with really good players. Well-coached; they really know their play style and what they want to do, and they did a good job of getting to it tonight,” Holmgren said. “We have to look at the tape, make some adjustments, and be better for next time.”
Mark Daigneault’s blunt admission after Thunder loss
Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander identified the Luka Doncic effect after Sunday’s blowout loss, and Thunder All-Star Jalen Williams addressed Lakers head coach JJ Redick. Their head coach, Mark Daigneault, focused on his team’s shortcomings during media availability.
“I thought they were the more forceful, focused team,” Daigneault said. “I thought our attacks early were pretty good offensively, but certainly they were super sharp and ready to play, and they played all 48 minutes.”
On Tuesday, the Thunder and the Lakers will run it back at the Paycom Center.
