With the Lakers trailing 2-1 of their collection in opposition to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and going through a (most likely 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 entire ultimate 24 minutes of sport time, whereas additionally benching nominal beginning middle Jaxson Hayes for Dorian Finney-Smith (who additionally performed your entire 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 turned 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 entire second half immediately.
— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) April 27, 2025
The Lakers’ field rating is fairly wild in consequence, with Luka (coming off a abdomen flu that noticed him in mattress your entire 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 however 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: In the event you do one thing that’s by no means been achieved earlier than and win, you’re a pioneering genius. In the event you do it and lose, nevertheless, 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 just a few extra minutes for Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and even Hayes in order that the Lakers’ essential guys didn’t brief rim seemingly each shot they took within the ultimate 5 minutes of sport time.
That final bit is hyperbolic, as Redick is clearly a sensible man who has principally achieved nicely with a wonky roster after the seismic and sudden commerce for Luka Doncic. Nevertheless it’s additionally protected to say he most likely didn’t, as a rookie coach, wish to go down as the primary bench chief to ever do that in a sport his group misplaced by one basket to fall down 3-1 within the collection as a substitute of tied at 2-2.
It’s additionally, as he advised reporters after the sport, not one thing he deliberate going into the sport, however a name he made at halftime and confirmed to stated gamers going into the fourth quarter:
JJ Redick: “Not a deliberate factor to play 5 [guys] your entire second half…these guys gave loads.”
— Khobi Value (@khobi_price) April 27, 2025
In the end, their effort was in useless, although, as was Redick’s daring strategic name, which means that it’s most likely unlikely one other coach will strive it once more anytime soo-… oh, wait, Tom Thibodeau is unquestionably making an attempt this subsequent sport now that he is aware of it’s each bodily potential and authorized, huh?
Effectively, in that case, perhaps Redick can console himself with the data that no less than he might not be alone on this membership for lengthy.
