JJ Redick isn’t happy with how the media is portraying him in his first playoff run.
The Los Angeles Lakers head coach is getting flack for his roster management in the playoffs.
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During Game 4 of the Lakers’ playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Redick decided to play his best lineup for the entire 24 minutes of the second half.
The Lakers lost that game, and the players looked exhausted during crunch time.
Because of that, a reporter asked Redick if he might use some of his assistant coaches for more help with the lineup in Game 5.
Redick took offense to the question and fired back against the reporter.
“Are you saying that I’m because I’m inexperienced and that was an ‘inexperienced’ decision that I made?” Redick said.
“You think I don’t talk to my assistants about rotations every single timeout?”
“No, I just think a lot of coaches lean on their assistants in those situations,” the reporter responded.
Redick wouldn’t let them finish though, and continued his rant against the reporter.
“As do I. Every single time. That’s a weird assumption,” he said.
Redick put the microphone down and stormed out of the room after giving his final answer.
The Lakers went on to lose Game 5 after Redick’s antics, losing the series in the process.
It was Redick’s first NBA playoffs as a head coach, and it went about as poorly as possible.
The Lakers have a lot of roster management to do this offseason, and might have to adapt to life without LeBron James if he decides to retire.
For now, Lakers fans want to see more maturity out of their head coach in the future.
“I’m tired of his dramatic a**,” one fan said.
2025 NBA Playoff matchups
Western Conference:
First Round:
- No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs No. 8 seed
- No. 2 Houston Rockets vs. No. 7 seed
- No. 3 Los Angeles Lakers vs No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves
- No. 4 Denver Nuggets vs No. 5 LA Clippers
Second Round:
- No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs No. 4 Indiana Pacers
- No. 2 Boston Celtics vs No. 3 Knicks OR No. 6 Pistons
Eastern Conference:
First Round:
- No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers vs No. 8 seed
- No. 2 Boston Celtics vs No. 7 seed
- No. 3 New York Knicks vs No. 6 Detroit Pistons
- No. 4 Indiana Pacers vs No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks
Second Round:
- No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs No. 4 Nuggets OR No. 5 Clippers
- No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves vs No. 2 Rockets OR No. 7 Warriors
“These playoffs have exposed him,” another fan said.
“Just answer dude- valid question- have to take it when clearly doing something for the first time in NBA playoff history backfires!!!” a third fan said.
“This is not a good sign. JJ crashing out,” a fourth fan said.
“Embarrassing for JJ,” a fifth fan said.