New Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has already finalized his starting lineup prior to the beginning of training camp.
In a recent appearance on The Lowe Post podcast with Zach Lowe, Redick was asked if he had made a decision regarding his starting five.
“Yeah, it’ll be the starting five that went 23-20 last year,” Redick confirmed. The lineup includes players LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Austin Reaves.
Redick also elaborated on his plans for James, particularly regarding his off-ball role.
“I think when people hear that with regards to LeBron playing off the ball, it doesn’t mean he’s not going to have the ball,” he explained.
Redick emphasized that James will still be a pivotal part of the offense. “LeBron is one of the smartest players,” Redick noted.
He mentioned the intention to utilize James as a screener to create offensive opportunities.
“Finding ways to get him the ball in specific spots on the floor where he can be a facilitator and a scorer – that’s what I mean by being off the ball,” Redick clarified.
He dismissed the notion that James would not be involved in playmaking.
“I don’t mean LeBron’s going to walk the ball up and get the ball pressured at 94 feet and he’s going to run high pick’n’roll every team. That’s not how we’re going to play,” Redick said.
The new head coach also outlined changes he plans to implement within the Lakers’ offense.
“I think in terms of what the offense looks like, there will be a decent amount of movement,” he stated.
He aims to improve the team’s shot profile for the upcoming season. “The shot profile will hopefully improve,” Redick added.
Discussions have already taken place regarding ways to create more point touches for players.
“We’ve talked about ways to shoot more threes,” he mentioned. “We’ve talked about some of the leeway that you have to give certain players with their mid-range shots whether that’s in the post or isolation.”
Redick emphasized the importance of allowing players the freedom to take mid-range shots in specific scenarios.
“Some of the leeway that you have to give certain players with their mid-range shots whether that’s in the post or isolation,” he explained.
He also highlighted the Lakers’ historical success in creating margins through free-throw shooting.
“Outside of that there hasn’t been a lot of margin creation,” Redick noted.
To address this, he is focusing on enhancing the team’s offensive rebounding capabilities. “So we’re going to try to create some margins,” Redick stated.
He specifically mentioned emphasizing corner crashes to maximize scoring opportunities.
