JJ Redick was hired to change things for the Los Angeles Lakers. But he keeps one big thing the same.
The Lakers head coach revealed in an interview about ESPN’s “The Lowe Post” podcast that he will start the team’s most used lineup from last season:
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Anthony Davis
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Rui Hachimura
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LeBron James
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Austin Reaves
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D’Angelo Russell
“Yeah. It’s going to be the starting five that went 23-10 last year,” Redick said.
Although Lakers training camp doesn’t start until next week, Redick clearly believes he already knows what will work best for the team. Last season, the quintet led by James was used a team-high 388 minutes, per Basketball Reference, and outscored the competition by 6.8 points per 100 possessions.
While it makes sense to go with what worked last season, the reason Redick has this job in the first place is how bad last season went under previous head coach Darvin Ham. The Lakers finished eighth in a competitive Western Conference with a 47-35 record, but were unceremoniously bounced by the Denver Nuggets in a first-round sweep.
Redick tried to explain what will be different with the lineup and team in general, and it boiled down to taking more shots in the paint and at the 3-point line, pushing for more rebounds on offense:
“I think the way the offense looks, there’s going to be a decent amount of movement. The shooting profile will hopefully improve. You know, we’ve talked about ways to create more paint touches. We’ve talked about ways to shoot more threes.
“We’ve talked about some of the freedoms you have to give certain players with their mid-range shots, whether that’s in the post or isolation. But hopefully the shot profile has improved. I think from a possession standpoint, one of the edges, that this team created last year, and historically with this group, were free throws.
“Outside of that, there hasn’t been a lot of margin creation, so we’re going to try to create some margins. One of which is, we’re going to really emphasize offensive rebounding, corner crashes.”
Redick doesn’t have many options beyond teaching an old lineup new tricks after a stagnant Lakers offseason in which the team barely added any significant contributors. The team was limited by cap space, especially after Russell picked up his $18.7 million draft pick, and every veteran that James was prepared to take a pay cut to accommodate signed elsewhere. James ended up signing a two-year, $104 million max deal.
The Lakers’ notable additions were through the draft, with #17 pick Dalton Knecht and #55 pick Bronny James. Knecht, a 23-year-old shooting guard from Tennessee, is much more likely to see playing time this season. Redick indicated that the G-League would figure heavily into the team’s plans to develop the younger James into an NBA player.
Redick also had a curious response when asked about Anthony Davis’ long-term shooting problems:
“I have a theory about that. I have a theory about that. Not one I’m willing to share publicly… And you know, if my theory proves correct, I’ll share it with you later in the season. But I have a theory about that.”
The Lakers will have their first chance to show their improvement on October 4 in their preseason opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
