With the Lakers trailing 2-1 of their sequence towards the Minnesota Timberwolves, and dealing with a (in all probability insurmountable) 3-1 deficit within the first spherical of the NBA Playoffs, head coach JJ Redick decided: He was both going to sink or swim with the blokes who received him so far.
That’s actually the one justification for why Redick performed starters LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura your complete last 24 minutes of recreation time, whereas additionally benching nominal beginning middle Jaxson Hayes for Dorian Finney-Smith (who additionally performed your complete second half).
If that appeared like a daring — and probably unprecedented — choice to anybody watching the sport, it seems that’s as a result of it was. As NBA stats guru Keerthika Uthayakumar identified after the Lakers’ 116-113 Sport 4 loss, Redick is the primary coach to ever do that within the playoffs for the reason that NBA began play-by-play monitoring:
JJ Redick simply grew to become the primary coach within the play-by-play period to play 5 gamers for a whole half within the playoffs.
James, Doncic, Reaves, Hachimura & Finney-Smith performed your complete second half at the moment.
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) April 27, 2025
The Lakers’ field rating is fairly wild consequently, with Luka (coming off a abdomen flu that noticed him in mattress your complete earlier day!) and LeBron ending with 46 minutes apiece, whereas Hachimura and Finney-Smith performed 41 every, and Reaves ended the sport with 35. Hayes, who’s unhealthy at basketball however nonetheless tall sufficient to stay the Lakers’ ostensible beginning middle, completed with one four-minute shift, and no Laker exterior of the second-half starters performed greater than 13 minutes.
With teaching strategic selections, the foundations for our collective reminiscences are easy: If you happen to do one thing that’s by no means been accomplished earlier than and win, you’re a pioneering genius. If you happen to do it and lose, nonetheless, you gained’t be second-guessed for eternity… however that’s simply because we’ve already determined you’re an fool who ought to have stolen a number of extra minutes for Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and even Hayes in order that the Lakers’ predominant guys didn’t quick rim seemingly each shot they took within the last 5 minutes of recreation time.
That final bit is hyperbolic, as Redick is clearly a wise man who has largely accomplished effectively with a wonky roster after the seismic and surprising commerce for Luka Doncic. Nevertheless it’s additionally secure to say he in all probability didn’t, as a rookie coach, wish to go down as the primary bench chief to ever do this in a recreation his group misplaced by one basket to fall down 3-1 within the sequence as an alternative of tied at 2-2.
It’s additionally, as he informed reporters after the sport, not one thing he deliberate going into the sport, however a name he made at halftime and confirmed to mentioned gamers going into the fourth quarter:
JJ Redick: “Not a deliberate factor to play 5 [guys] your complete second half…these guys gave loads.”
— Khobi Value (@khobi_price) April 27, 2025
Finally, their effort was in useless, although, as was Redick’s daring strategic name, which means that it’s in all probability unlikely one other coach will strive it once more anytime soo-… oh, wait, Tom Thibodeau is unquestionably attempting this subsequent recreation now that he is aware of it’s each bodily doable and authorized, huh?
Effectively, in that case, possibly Redick can console himself with the data that at the least he is probably not alone on this membership for lengthy.
