After the Los Angeles Lakers hired JJ Redick as head coach in June, GM Rob Pelinka promised an aggressive summer for the team.
Pelinka’s Summer Moves
Pelinka said they would be relentless in improving the team. However, after drafting Dalton Knecht and Bronny James, he seemed to take it easy for the rest of the summer. Even with LeBron leading Team USA to gold at the Olympics, Pelinka didn’t make any significant moves. Anthony Davis and LeBron deserve better from their front office, but it looks like they’ll have mostly the same team as last season.
Redick’s Coaching Philosophy
The Lakers were 15th in offense and 17th in defense under Darvin Ham last season. Redick has hinted at using AD more offensively and involving Austin Reaves more. The biggest change will likely be a full embrace of analytics. “I’m going to use math,” Redick has said multiple times.
The Three-Point Line Focus
Under Ham, the Lakers struggled with defending three-pointers, giving up too many per game at high efficiency. They were also one of the worst teams in attempting three-pointers despite shooting them well when they did take them. More three-point attempts generally lead to more wins; just look at last season’s Celtics and Mavericks who led in attempts and met in the Finals.
Fans think this new approach could really shake things up!
Expect LeBron to shoot more threes after his career-best 41% from beyond the arc last season. D’Angelo Russell will likely keep his volume up while Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Max Christie should see increases too.
Getting Good Looks
Saying you’ll shoot more threes is one thing; getting good shots is another. Redick was great at this during his playing days. One play he perfected was a dribble-handoff with Joel Embiid which led to high-scoring seasons for him late in his career. AD and LeBron could use similar plays to get open shots for teammates like D-Lo or Knecht.
If Knecht can shoot like he did in college, expect clever plays from Redick and LeBron to get him open looks just like they did for Kyle Korver or Ray Allen before (Learn about this “hammer action here).
Another play could involve a LeBron-AD pick-and-roll on one side while Knecht gets screened for a corner three on the other sideโtough to defend! You might also see actions where two shooters set screens for each other until someone gets an open shot or slips to the basket (like James did with Kevin Love and Korver).
Out-of-Bounds Plays
Redick might also have some great baseline and sideline out-of-bounds plays up his sleeve after studying other coaches around the league.
In summary, Redick aims to bring math and tactics into his coaching styleโa refreshing change for this franchise that could give it a new look but whether it leads to better results than their 165-153 record over four seasons remains uncertain.
