Newly minted head coach JJ Redick took the blame after the Los Angeles Lakers’ first loss of the season on Monday evening to the Pacific Divisional rival Phoenix Suns. Although LeBron James played one of the worst games of his career from a shooting perspective in this one, Redick still felt as though he let his team down in spots throughout the evening.
Still, it’s largely been a productive beginning to Redick’s tenure in Los Angeles, as the Purple and Gold currently sit at 3-1 as they prepare to embark on an East Coast road trip.
One person who is not surprised by what he’s seen by Redick early on in his Lakers run is former Los Angeles wing and NBA champion Matt Barnes, who recently took to the All The Smoke podcast to relay his thoughts on what has made Redick so successful.
“I knew he would be successful… JJ moves around with an arrogance and a confidence because he does the work,” said Barnes.
Indeed, Redick does have a very self-assured persona that became evident during his frequent clashes with Stephen A. Smith and Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo during his time on ESPN’s First Take.
Coaching a team led by LeBron James involves a very tight balancing act of knowing when to step in and coach and when to get out of the way of greatness, and it seems that Redick has been able to walk that line so far.
What is the Lakers’ ceiling this year?
On paper, the Lakers are bringing back largely the same roster that earned them a trip to the play-in tournament and eventual five game loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round a season ago.
Related Los Angeles Lakers NewsArticle continues below
However, that team was led by former head coach and current Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, who frequently proved incapable of scheming an offense to maximize the talents of James and Anthony Davis.
Redick has shown not only a willingness but an eagerness to modernize the Lakers’ offensive schemes to adapt to the new three-point heavy philosophy that governs the NBA today, and Los Angeles has gotten off to a strong start to the season as a result, also thanks in large part to a brilliant opening act from Davis.
In any case, the Lakers are set to continue their season on Wednesday evening with a road game vs the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:00 PM ET.
