JJ Redick makes a case he’s the right coach for playoffs

The only thing that would make JJ Redick’s work better is if he wore a suit.

If the Lakers coach looked up to it.

The role of a lawyer who asserts his opposition in public hearing. He delivered an airtight opening argument that was stunning as it was much stronger than that of opposing coach Ime Udoka. And proof of how far Redick has come.

Now look, your honor: The star-strapped Lakers won both games at home to take a 2-0 series lead over the heavily favored Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs? It’s a convincing start.

But Redick, James and Associates are only halfway there; they are still proving their case.

They have yet to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their key players can be as convincing on the road as they did at home.

And they’ll likely have to prove they can effectively refute the Rockets’ adjustments, even if they’re just conceptual at this point, they’re so anticipated.

Two games into this series, it seemed to us, the jury members, that Redick had taken this supposedly open-and-shut case, this slam dunk of a trial – and knocked it down.

The Lakers seem to be the better team. Like the best-built team, even. And that’s without injured stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, who are falling back as fast as their bodies will allow them because of hamstring and oblique injuries, respectively.

They look like the best-coached team.

It’s the opposing lawyer who looks dressed for the role, Udoka in a tracksuit like a dad in a Saturday morning youth league trying to get his players to agree, with only one play in his pocket: give the ball to Kevin.

Meanwhile, the legal team handling the game in the Lakers group is running laps around the guys on the other bench.

Coach JJ Redick and forward LeBron James helped the Lakers take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series against the favored Rockets without injured guards Luke Doncic and Austin Reaves.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Exhibit A: One of the game’s greatest scorers, Kevin Durant, was also forced by his own team to perform numerous ball-handling tasks. So the Lakers double-teamed and bombarded Durant all over the court, forcing him to nine turnovers in Tuesday’s 101-94 Game 2 win at Crypto.com Arena. Using the same strategy, they turned it over 20 times in his last three meetings with the Lakers, dating back to the regular season.

Exhibit B: Playing drop, hedge, man, and mix zone defense, the Lakers also, according to Marcus Smart’s postgame testimony, “threw different packages” at the Rockets. It works: Houston failed to score 100 points in either game of the series.

Exhibit C: The Lakers put the ball in Smart’s hands, using him in a way that forces the Rockets to defend honestly, instead of sagging. They’ve also been intentional in how they exploit Luke Kennard, taking actions that override his reluctance to shoot. It should please the court to see the man shooting 65.4% (17 for 26) from the field in the first two games!

With these and other tactics, the Lakers almost seem to set a new precedent for the laws of basketball, because what do you mean the Rockets made 44 more shots but were outscored by 16 points?

What makes it so impressive is that before the Lakers took this thing to court, it looked like it was going to be thrown out due to insufficient star power.

With only LeBron James, 41, to carry them without Doncic and Reaves, Houston looked so much stronger. Physically, on the stage, in almost every sense except in terms of chemistry, camaraderie and communication.

Even Udoka’s record seemed superior. In 2021-22, his first (and only) season as coach of the Boston Celtics, he led them to the NBA Finals.

Redick, in his first playoff run as coach last year, showed such disdain for his own team and completely made a mockery of the game plan that got the Lakers into the playoffs in the first place. Remember how he freaked out, refusing to even come near the bench to give his favorite five a break during a completely losing half in Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves? The little tantrum he threw when asked about it before the Game 5 finale?

The Duke graduate and self-proclaimed “basketball patient” appeared this time much more prepared, much more composed.

He seems to be in his element, solving problems alongside his former podcast host, James, who has progressed with 47 points, 20 assists and 16 rebounds – including a few dunks and scoring passes – through the first two games. We are all witnesses.

Still, this case will last at least two more games, and maybe more, before we get a verdict.

What if it went the way of the Lakers?

Congratulations, JJ, you will have earned a reputation as a coach who can take on the toughest cases and win them. And do we have an impossible challenge for you next?

The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder are young, deep and leading 2-0 in their first-round series against the Phoenix Suns. The defending champion Thunder has chased the Lakers off the court in every game this season, beating them by an average of 29 points. And they are intelligent too; the referees – those on-field judges – always seem very friendly to OKC.

Would the Lakers have a chance? Redick proves he might be able to make his point.