Despite having home-court advantage as the Western Conference’s third seed in the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games. Their last two defeats were heartbreaking because they lost both games by a total margin of ten points.
Reflecting on the season and that postseason series, Lakers head coach JJ Redick highlighted an important aspect that will unlock their improvement and potentially maintain their competitive edge.
JJ Redick Puts a Premium on Physical Fitness
During the Lakers’ end-of-season press conference, a media member asked the first-year head coach, “Coach, you’ve been talking about ways of getting better. In your mind, what are some of the ways this team needs to get better in order to get back?”
JJ Redick responded, “I’ll start with the offseason and the work required in an offseason to be in championship shape.” While he did not directly call out a specific player, not being in great physical condition led to disappointing finishes.
In those five playoff games against the Timberwolves, the Lakers scored at least 20 points in the fourth quarter only once. It wasn’t even in Game 2, which they won, because Los Angeles dropped 13 points, their lowest fourth-quarter scoring output in the entire series.
Conversely, being in subpar physical shape limited them on defense. The Timberwolves had at least 30 points in the fourth quarter of Games 3 and 4, a major factor in building a commanding 3-1 lead.
Letting the Timberwolves score at will shows how far the Lakers are from being a championship-caliber team, even if they traded for perennial All-NBA First Team member Luka Doncic. In addition to scoring, hard-nosed defense is integral to winning 16 playoff games before hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
Redick Stresses that Improvement isn’t Limited to the Players
As the Lakers start their offseason, Redick believes that he has his fair share of shortcomings that led to the team’s demise. Therefore, he will use the break to assess his rooms for growth by using an approach he implemented during his playing days.
Redick said, “As a player, get on the plane, fly back, it’s quiet. You’re writing down everything you want to be better at. That’s no different as a coach. I think that’s where my mind goes today immediately is how can I be better and I will take a lot of time.”
The former Duke standout played for six teams in 16 NBA seasons. Redick’s shooting accuracy led to career averages of 12.8 points per game, 44.7 percent field goal shooting, and 41.7 percent shooting from the three-point arc. He also normed two points and two rebounds in 940 career games.
As he enters his second season as head coach of one of the league’s storied franchises, JJ Redick will solicit opinions from the voices that matter. He added, “Thankfully, this offseason, I will have more time than last offseason to self-evaluate and listen to my coaching staff, listen to the players, and figure out ways I can be better, ways I can help get us closer to that ultimate goal of hanging banner number 18.”
