'The task at hand': How Lakers coach JJ Redick stays focused
· Yahoo Sports
It hasn’t been Oklahoma City’s superstar burying the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals. That’s what’s made this series so vexing for the shorthanded Lakers.
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After the Thunder dominated the Lakers in minutes without reigning most valuable player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the court in Game 2, flexing their superior depth, athleticism and pace, Lakers coach JJ Redick said the team had to “look at everything.” The second-year Lakers coach is the latest to face a problem that almost no one in the NBA has solved.
How do you stop the inevitable when it comes to the Oklahoma City Thunder?
The defending NBA champions rolled to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals despite relatively quiet performances from Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder put the Lakers in danger of getting swept out of the playoffs for just the 10th time in franchise history.
Playing without Luka Doncic, the NBA's leading scorer, the Lakers can only continue to do what they’ve done all year: adapt.
“The thing I love about the playoffs,” Redick said before the Lakers’ second-round series, “is you only can worry about the task at hand.”
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The Lakers have already shown their resilience this postseason by winning a first-round playoff series over the Houston Rockets in six games despite being without their superstar guard and only getting second-leading scorer Austin Reaves back for two games.
When the star guards both suffered regular season-ending injuries against the Thunder on April 2, it looked like a sure disaster. The Lakers were just beginning to show their potential as a team.
They grieved through a three-game losing streak. They regrouped. Then they won.
“Going through this series, we could have really folded a little bit and could have had a lot of all type of excuses,” center Deandre Ayton said after the Lakers polished off the first-round series, “but I felt that we came in, JJ didn't give a damn who was out there with him.”
Between shocking trades and major injuries, it’s felt like Redick has coached at least six different teams during his first two seasons. His intense focus can help take the emotion out of any unforeseen circumstance. Whether it’s a blockbuster trade that brought Doncic to L.A. or an untimely injury that sidelines the superstar guard at the most important time of the season, Redick is able to compartmentalize each day’s mission.
“He just stays locked into what he has to do in the moment,” said Stan Van Gundy, who coached Redick in Orlando and is now an analyst for Amazon Prime Video. “He's as focused as anybody you'll run into."
Lakers coach JJ Redick gives instructions to guard Luka Doncic during a game in March. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)Sometimes Redick’s tasks are simply checking in with certain players. Other times it’s cooking up new plays with the coaches. Redick focuses fully on each one at a time. Learning to prioritize the tasks has kept him more sane during his second season in one of the most high-profile coaching jobs in sports, he said.
“A little more sane,” Redick clarified with a bashful grin.
Reaves isn't buying it.
The Lakers guard still sees Redick combusting on the Lakers' bench after a particularly egregious turnover or a missed assignment. He saved his ire for officials during the Lakers’ Game 2 loss in Oklahoma City during which Redick received a technical foul.
Redick got into heated exchanges with Doncic and Jarred Vanderbilt this season. The video clips went viral, casting doubt on Redick’s relationship with players, especially the moment with Doncic in February. But Redick maintained both were ordinary conversations among competitive people.
Even after Redick's sideline dust-ups, Reaves knows he can still talk it through with the coaching staff.
"It just shows the care factor,” Reaves said. “Like there's no bad intentions with any of it. … It's a healthy relationship. It's not just with myself, it's the whole team. Everybody can talk to one another. It's not just us to coaching staff, it's player to player, coaching staff to coaching staff, we all hold each other accountable and it's a beautiful thing to see."
Lakers coach JJ Redick reviews his notes before a game against the Utah Jazz in April. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)In his second season at the helm, Redick set out to make a player-led team culture. Redick and his staff intentionally let players discuss between themselves during timeouts before coaches join the huddle.
For as much spotlight head coaches get in the NBA, a team’s culture ultimately comes down to players, Van Gundy said. What coaches do is acquire and elevate the players who have the cultural traits the team needs. For the Lakers this season, it’s been about adaptability.
LeBron James exemplified the mantra when he shape-shifted from the high-usage star he’s been for more than two decades to the most accomplished tertiary option in NBA history. When Reaves and Doncic were hurt, James turned back the clock again to star in the Lakers’ first-round series win.
The high-impact performances have trickled down the roster.
Rui Hachimura shot a career-best 44.3% on threes during the regular season and 58.6% from three in the first round. Long criticized for inconsistent energy, Ayton reemerged as a postseason force in the first round. Marcus Smart resurrected his career as a tenacious defender at 32 years old. Luke Kennard’s emergence as an emergency point guard was a late-season revelation. Jaxson Hayes was out of the postseason rotation last year and is now an important counterpunch behind Ayton.
"[Redick] has found ways to maximize all of these guys, whether it's through motivation, Xs and O's or both,” Van Gundy said. “He's really, really been impressive in what he's done, and it's not an easy thing to do."
Redick, who never coached outside of his sons’ youth teams before taking the Lakers job, became the first coach to lead the Lakers to back-to-back 50-win seasons since Phil Jackson in 2009-10 and 2010-11. Redick held back tears when general manager Rob Pelinka presented him with the game ball in the locker room on March 31 and showed a video of Redick’s sons, Knox and Kai, congratulating their dad.
When asked about joining a list of Lakers coaches that includes Jackson and Pat Riley, Redick demurred. He doesn’t deserve the mention, he said.
“I’ve got a lot left to accomplish, for sure,” Redick said.
He’s focused on the next play.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.