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Lakers star LeBron James drives on 76ers forward Paul George, right, during the second quarter of the Lakers’ 116-106 win Friday at Crypto.com Arena. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
In Las Vegas last summer, a veteran NBA coach spoke about the Lakers’ decision to hire JJ Redick noting that nothing can prepare someone — an assistant, broadcaster, whoever — for the massive volume of decisions a head coach needs to make on a nightly basis.
Most of the choices are relatively small — what play to call out of a timeout, when to use a challenge, how to adjust a pick-and-roll coverage.
When it comes to decisions, that’s a lot of the job.
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But Friday night with the Lakers having lost four of their last five games, Redick went down a less common road. He made a big choice.
Following a benching Wednesday in a loss to Memphis, Redick moved point guard D’Angelo Russell to the second unit in favor of Cam Reddish, who wasn’t even in the rotation three games ago.
Decisions like that are fraught with second-guessing, the kind of moves fans can hold against a coach like they did a year ago when after nine games, Darvin Ham sent Austin Reaves to the bench to start Reddish.
Friday, the move worked about as good as it could’ve for all parties involved. Reddish took on the responsibility of defending Philadelphia’s best perimeter player, Paul George. Reaves, freed of that responsibility, had his best shooting game of the season. Russell gave the toothless Lakers’ bench some real bite.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves passes in front of 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele in the second quarter Friday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
And, most importantly, the Lakers won, beating the 76ers 116-106 in their first game in Los Angeles following a 1-4 road trip.
LeBron James had 21 points, 12 rebounds and 13 assists, his second triple-double of the season. Anthony Davis scored 31 points to lead the Lakers, and the team made a season high 16 three-pointers —including six from Reaves.
Russell scored 18 points off the bench, tied for the most by a Laker…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/critical-decision-jj-redick-pays-054749400.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-11-09 05:47:00
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