Tag: JJ Redick

How is JJ Redick’s first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach going?

With the NBA season in full swing, here’s a weekly check on JJ Redick’s first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost a 97-87 game to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, dropping Duke basketball legend [autotag]JJ Redick[/autotag] down to 13-12 in his first season as the franchise’s head coach.

The Lakers won six games in a row from November 8-19, including victories over Blue Devils rookies [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] (Philadelphia 76ers) and [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] (Utah Jazz). However, Los Angeles has only won three of its eight games since to drop down to the 10th overall seed in the Western Conference.

Redick, the all-time leading scorer in Blue Devils history, picked up the job this offseason after a few years within the media sphere. He appeared on ESPN talk shows and hosted several podcasts, including one with Lakers star LeBron James, after his retirement in 2021.

James, now in his 22nd season at 39 years old, is averaging 23.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game with seven triple-doubles.

The Lakers hope to reverse their recent form against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time.

How is JJ Redick’s first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach going?

With the NBA season in full swing, here’s a weekly check on JJ Redick’s first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach.

Duke basketball legend [autotag]JJ Redick[/autotag] got his first NBA head-coaching season off to a promising start, but he and the Los Angeles Lakers have fallen on harder times over the past two weeks.

The Blue Devils’ all-time leading scorer won 10 of his first 14 games with the storied franchise, including victories over former Duke stars [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag] and [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag] with their respective professional teams. However, the Lakers have lost six of their eight games since November 21, tumbling down to the ninth seed in the Western Conference with a 12-10 record.

All is not lost for Reddick’s debut season, however. The Lakers are just 2.5 games behind the Houston Rockets for the second overall seed in the conference, and of their seven games between now and Christmas Day, only one comes against a foe with a better record.

Redick and the Lakers play the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on Friday night.

How is JJ Redick’s first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach going?

With the NBA season in full swing, here’s a weekly check on JJ Redick’s first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach.

After a 127-102 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, former Duke basketball star [autotag]JJ Redick[/autotag] sports a 10-6 record through his first 16 games as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach.

Redick, the Blue Devils’ all-time leading scorer, retired from the NBA in 2021 after a 15-year career. After a brief stint as a media personality, the Lakers asked him to oversee four-time NBA champion LeBron James and the rest of the roster.

After four losses in five games at the start of the month, Los Angeles rattled off six straight wins from November 8-19 to hurtle back toward the top of the Western Conference. Redick defeated [autotag]Jared McCain[/autotag]’s Philadelphia 76ers and [autotag]Kyle Filipowski[/autotag]’s Utah Jazz during that win streak, and his team now sits fourth in the conference standings.

The Lakers, just five seasons removed from their last championship, finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 47-35 record. The Nuggets defeated them in just five games during the best-of-seven opening round, however, marking the third time Los Angeles failed to reach the conference semifinals since their title.

Redick and his team play again on Tuesday night against [autotag]Grayson Allen[/autotag], Tyus Jones, and the Phoenix Suns.

How is JJ Redick’s first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach going?

With the NBA season in full swing, here’s a weekly check on JJ Redick’s first season as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach.

[autotag]JJ Redick[/autotag]’s first season as an NBA head coach is off to a sound start.

As of Thursday afternoon, the Los Angeles Lakers have a 7-4 record to sit sixth in the Western Conference standings.

Redick and the Lakers have taken down some impressive teams early in the season as well. Los Angeles opened the 2024-25 calendar with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, a Western Conference finalist last season, as part of a 3-0 start. The Lakers also took down perennial playoff teams like the Phoenix Suns and the Memphis Grizzlies, the latter of whom they beat just on Wednesday night.

Four-time NBA champion LeBron James, at age 39, has still played a major role for Redick’s team. James finished the Memphis win with 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 14 assists for his third straight triple-double, and the legend is averaging 24.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 9.4 assists through 11 games.

The Lakers finished with a 47-35 record in 2023-24, so the real test for Redick will come in the postseason, but Duke’s all-time leading scorer looks like anything but a disaster as he settles into his new position.

JJ Redick criticized D’Angelo Russell for lacking competitiveness and attention to detail

This could be a BIG issue for the Lakers.

During a Los Angeles Lakers loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, head coach JJ Redick played starting guard D’Angelo Russell for limited minutes.

After the game during his media availability, Redick was not shy about why he made the decision. According to the first-year head coach, he did not see a level to “compete” and an “attention to detail” from Russell when he was on the court against Memphis.

Redick added that he has spoken to Russell about this for the past few weeks and noted that while the guard has been “really good” about this at times, he fell short and reverted to “old habits” versus the Grizzlies.

According to Redick, it wasn’t a “punishment” but rather an attempt to win the game.

Lakers guard Gabe Vincent replaced Russell after this defensive mishap in the third quarter:

It is worth noting that Vincent did not play particularly well either, finishing with 6 points (2-of-8 FG) and 2 turnovers and the second-lowest plus-minus of any player on the team.

After a strong start to the season the Lakers (4-4) are now at .500 and have not looked as sharp of late. They will have a chance to bounce back against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday evening.

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JJ Redick wins his first game as the Los Angeles Lakers head coach

JJ Redick won his first game as an NBA coach on Tuesday night when the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Duke basketball legend [autotag]JJ Redick[/autotag] began his NBA coaching career with a victory on Tuesday night.

Redick, now the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, led his team to a 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first game of the 2024-25 season. The Lakers scored 33 points in the second quarter to open up a 13-point lead at the midway point, and star forward Anthony Davis scored 36 points with 16 rebounds and three blocks in the best performance of the night.

The all-time leading scorer in Duke basketball history played in the NBA from 2006-21, averaging 12.8 points per game and shooting 41.5% from 3-point range for his career. As a senior with the Blue Devils, Redick set a program record with 26.8 points per game, a mark that still stands today. After a brief media career, the Lakers hired him in June.

The Timberwolves aren’t an easy opponent, either. Led by star guard Anthony Edwards and four-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert, Minnesota reached the Western Conference Finals last season after winning 56 games.

The other notable headline from Tuesday night’s game came in the second quarter when four-time NBA champion LeBron James and his son, LeBron James Jr., became the first father-son duo to share the court. The elder James finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists while the younger James grabbed a rebound during his three minutes.

Barack Obama realized he hilariously reenacted the Key & Peele handshake sketch with Team USA

Obama did not realize it at first but now finds it hilarious.

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama met with Team USA basketball and had a hilarious interaction with the players and coaching staff.

Obama had a familiarity with several players and coaches including Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Erik Spoelstra, and Steve Kerr. That much was quite obvious when he greeted each of them for a handshake.

But the former POTUS was not as familiar with Team USA assistant coach Mark Few, who is also the head coach of Gonzaga Men’s Basketball. During a recent interview with Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was on Team USA this summer, Obama said he had never met Few.

So when it came time to shake his hand, he wasn’t sure what greeting to go with. In the conversation, he admitted that it ended up looking a lot like an iconic sketch from Key & Peele at a meet and greet:

“I gotta say, that was funny. But here’s what happened. Here’s what happened. So I’m going down the row, right? A lot of those guys, I knew. And then right before I got to Coach Few, it’s Steph, it’s LeBron. I’ve been knowing those guys forever. I had dinner with them, their families. So then Coach Few, I’d never met. And he put out his hand and I’m like, alright. Yeah. I don’t know. Is he going to be comfortable if I pull him into a bro hug? I don’t know. So I just shook his hand. Kerr was right afterward. And Steve I knew. But the way it played out, I will say, it looked just like that Key & Peele skit.”

Obama revealed that he did not know that people would make the comparison because it was not a “conscious” decision.

You can watch the version from his presidency and the version from the Olympics:

When he watched it side-by-side, he felt like people “caught” him.

The former president added that the two comedians did plenty of funny sketches surrounding his presidency and believes that Jordan Peele does a fantastic impression of him.

Meanwhile, this was a great job by Haliburton to ask the question.

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JJ Redick will complain to the NBA about the basketballs used despite winning his coaching debut

JJ Redick isn’t joking. He is, however, neurotic.

Despite earning a win in his first appearance of the regular-season, Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick was not fully satisfied.

The game, which featured a historic moment between LeBron James and his son Bronny James, was a very convincing victory for the Lakers over the Timberwolves. It was the first win on Opening Night for the franchise since 2016, which made the accomplishment even more impressive.

Redick, however, did not leave the arena without first expressing some grievances about the game. He said that while his team took about as many 3-pointers in the first half as they hoped, there was a much bigger issue.

Redick confirmed that he is not joking but that he is neurotic:

“There was even some 3’s there in the second half that I thought were wide open and we just couldn’t know them down. I’m going to send in a request to the league tomorrow that we can play with worn-in basketball … I’m being dead serious. I’m not sure why we’re playing in real games with brand new basketballs. Anybody who has ever touched an NBA ball, brand new, it’s a different feel and touch than a worn-in basketball.”

Redick said he didn’t realize it until a timeout when he touched the ball.

He wants his players to have an “opportunity” to pick a good basketball.

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JJ Redick revealed Lakers have already considered how LeBron James and Bronny might share the floor

The Lakers are already preparing for how LeBron James and Bronny will make history together.

While the Los Angeles Lakers probably have more pressing issues as a team — including how JJ Redick’s starting five will shake out — a lot of the focus on them will understandably center on LeBron James’ playing relationship with his son Bronny.

Fortunately, it sounds like Redick and the Lakers are already considering this in their organizational calculus.

During a press conference Wednesday, Redick clarified that Los Angeles has not yet nailed down specifics about when LeBron and Bronny will actually play together for the first time. That, of course, will have the duo make history as the first NBA father and son pair ever to share the floor.

However, Redick maintained the Lakers have thought about it — and that they will involve both LeBron and Bronny in planning — because it’s an important moment they want to give proper credence to:

https://twitter.com/MarkG_Medina/status/1839035830196908418

If you think about it, this is a situation that will require a little more thought.

After all, do you start Bronny for one of the Lakers’ first few home games while giving him the equivalent of a bench player’s minutes? Do you bring him off the bench and have LeBron stagger? If it’s at home, how do you involve the Lakers’ arena staff? Is there any additional fanfare they should be ready for?

These are all questions that Redick and the Lakers have to consider before this fateful, awesome moment finally arrives. It is cool, though, to learn that both LeBron and Bronny will be involved in the planning.

The one thing Lakers head coach JJ Redick wants the NBA to get rid of

The NBA introduced a new practice a handful of years ago that new Lakers head coach JJ Redick seems to be a critic of.

Many fans have complained about the officiating in the NBA for decades. These complaints have turned into outright accusations and even conspiracy theories.

A few years ago, perhaps in an attempt to quell that criticism and skepticism, the league started issuing a “Last 2-Minute” (L2M) report after each game which lists calls that referees got wrong. At the very least, it has brought some transparency to NBA officiating.

There are critics of these reports, however, and such people say these reports do nothing to help improve the way games are called. New Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick seems to be one of those critics. During an interview with Hasan Minhaj, he said the league should get rid of its L2M reports (h/t Lakers Nation).

“There’s always been a human element to the sport. Referees are a big part of our sport and they’re graded just like all of us, they’re scrutinized internally I’m saying. If I have a good game or a bad game, I’ve got to then go watch the film the next day with the team and we’ve got to talk about it and we’ve got to fix the problems, they’re getting that within the referee’s association. So there’s always been that human element. Technology has made it where the eyeballs and the magnifying glass on them has I think made it harder. As far as the Last 2-Minute report, I hate it. I don’t think we should do it. There’s some times where the league will come out and they’ll be like that was the correct call and we’re like no we all watched the replay 17 times, it was not the correct call. What does the Last 2-Minute report do? We can all see what happened. The [Tyrese] Maxey, you brought up the travel, but what about Game 2 when his jersey gets held on the inbounds play? That should’ve been a foul. And then they come out with a Last 2-Minute report like, Josh Hart fouled Maxey, well no [expletive]. I don’t need you to do that. The intent there is for transparency, I think the intent is correct. But does it solve any problem? No. Does it make anybody feel any better? You think 76ers fans woke up the next day and were like, league got it right this time? … I know it slows the game down at times, but I like replays within the game. I think it’s fair to have replays. I think there’s some stuff, and again I have nothing to do with the rules committee, but there’s some stuff where we see something happening in a replay and they’re reviewing the replay for something else and its blatantly obvious that this one thing happened, but it’s not reviewable. Can we tweak some of that stuff, I don’t know.”

Of course, there is always the possibility of mistakes being made on a L2M report. The Lakers have arguably been on the wrong side of that at least once over the last two seasons, at least according to some fans.

But if the NBA uses these reports to hold referees accountable and even discipline them if continued mistakes are made, then it is a necessary, yet imperfect, step forward towards fixing its officiating issues.