JJ Redick's impact on the Lakers

As of Monday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers are 3-1 to start the season, thanks in large part to the coaching abilities of recently hired head coach JJ Redick.

There are many reasons why Redick’s coaching style has worked wonders for Los Angeles, and many are claiming he has done more in his four games than previous head coach Darvin Ham did in two seasons, but there are a few key reasons that should be highlighted.

Running the offense through Anthony Davis

Fans have been begging the Lakers’ coaching staff to give Davis the keys to the team instead of putting the load on an aging LeBron, who is at a geriatric age by NBA standards, however he has continued to defy all expectations for an almost 40 year old man.

Regardless, the multiple-time All-Star, All-NBA, and perennial All-Defensive player who is still in the middle of his prime should’ve been leading the charge years ago and now that he finally is, the team looks much better for it.

Davis doesn’t just look “good” either, he looks like the best player in the league. In four games, he currently averages 33/12/3 and four stocks, a serious MVP case can be had for him is things stay this way.

Unlocking Reaves/Hachimura’s full potential

More than just the change in engine, Redick has taken the time to analyze the game of the other members of the starting lineup and use them to their fullest extent.

After the Lakers’ first game against the Suns this season, he had this to say about Austin Reaves: “I knew he was a great player when I took this job … but I didn’t realize he was this good … he’s a fantastic basketball player.”

Reaves isn’t the only one who has taken a leap in production to start this season, small forward Rui Hachimura has become a jack-of-all-trades, really shining in their most recent game with a 20 point double-double along with a few assists and stocks.

As mentioned earlier, having LeBron take on less of a load has also allowed him to focus more on his playmaking abilities for the other members of the team instead of scoring himself.

Play Calling, Substitutions, and Timeout Usage

People sometimes forget that Redick was just playing in the NBA three years ago before retiring with the Mavericks in 2021.

Since then he has been religiously following and covering the game on two of his podcasts: “Old Man and the Three” and “Mind the Game” alongside LeBron himself.

What this means is that Redick has a much better understanding of how the modern NBA works than any other coach in the league, and he puts it to use when calling plays especially in the clutch minutes of games.

From a fan’s point of view, the team looks more competent when running the offense and there are less simple mistakes being made. When that is the case however, or when the other team is getting onto a run he is quick to take a timeout, sub in who he thinks is best to fix the issue, and address the problem.

The team is much better at getting back on track and stopping the game from slipping away than they were last year.

Chris Vadnais is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email cmv5562@psu.edu.