By any metric, second-year head coach JJ Redick has done a fantastic job so far this year with the Lakers. The team is 17-6, tied for second in the West, and they’ve gotten there despite only having LeBron James for seven of those games.
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The synergy between Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves has been a sight to behold. That duo easily tops in the league in terms of scoring, and both athletes have shown themselves capable of carrying the team when the other is out. Redick has also made smart use of new arrival Deandre Ayton, who has raised the team’s ceiling by giving them a credible option, both offensively and defensively, down low.
Byron Scott played on the Showtime Lakers and even coached them for a couple years at the end of the Kobe Bryant era, spoke about the job Redick has done on the newest episode of his podcast. Surprisingly, he sounded kind of lukewarm on what the former Duke sharpshooter is doing.
“His philosophy is pretty much the same as almost 20 other teams in this league, as far as pace and shooting a high number of 3s,” Scott said. “But if you’re not making them, it’s a different story. I still believe that layups and getting to the free throw line are valuable as well, especially when you’re not shooting 3s at a high clip.”
The Lakers are the most popular topic on Scott’s podcast, but this comment is strange because it doesn’t really reflect the way the Lakers play at all. Sure, they shoot more 3s than they did back in Scott’s day, but so does everybody. Compared to the rest of the league, the Lakers rank only 24th in terms of 3s attempted, and they get to the line more than all but three other teams.
Scott and his guest Olden Polynice also took the Lakers to task for ranking 18th in defensive efficiency, but given the roster he has to work with, it’s difficult to imagine Redick or anyone else being able to put together a defense that ranks in the top half of the league. Being 18th is good enough when you’re sixth in offensive rating.
Polynice said that even that 18th ranking isn’t indicative of how bad the Lakers have actually been on that end of the floor. “They’re not even 18th, realistically,” he said. “Teams are missing shots. It’s a big difference between playing good defense, and a team just happens to miss.”
Polynice used some examples from games he’s watched, but the stats don’t make it seem like teams shoot any worse against the Lakers than they should. According to NBA.com, the Lakers opponents have a 59% effective field goal percentage on wide-open shots (any shot taken with six or more feet of space).
That ranks 11th highest in the league, which means teams should just slightly above average against L.A.
It was kind of odd to hear two former Lakers sound so down about a 17-6 team. They mentioned how the Thunder killed the Lakers a month ago, but the fact is that The Thunder kill everybody.
They may be on their way to setting the all-time wins record, so there’s no shame in getting blown out against that team on the road.
It seems unlikely that the Lakers will have what it takes to take down OKC, but this can still be a successful season, and one where Redick gets the credit he deserves. The team has taken big strides from last year, and is positioning itself for a much stronger showing in the postseason.
