In JJ Redick’s debut, Lakers show their potential to contend: ‘We trust him’

LOS ANGELES — As Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick sat down at the postgame dais, his consistently coiffed hair was wet and disheveled. Water dripped down his face as he shook his head like a dog post-bath.

Redick has often preached process over results, and the Lakers’ 110-103 season-opening victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena was early confirmation of Redick’s approach. The result was Redick’s first career win — and an ice-water drenching from his players.

Nearly four months after the Lakers hired him, Redick helped them snap their seven-game opening-night losing streak. Los Angeles is 1-0 with its first opening-night victory since 2016 — when starting point guard D’Angelo Russell and Timberwolves forward Julius Randle were considered the future of the franchise.

The primary difference for a Lakers group that’s returning 13 of 15 players from last season’s roster is Redick and his coaching staff, which has seemingly pushed all of the right buttons since the start of training camp. From their preseason dinner meeting setting clear expectations and ground rules to individual conversations with players daily, to thorough preparation and attention to detail, Redick has earned immediate trust and buy-in from his players in a way that is translating on and off the court.

“The game plan, the schemes that he had on both ends of the floor, he trusts us,” Anthony Davis said. “We trust him, as far as what he teaches us, what he wants us to do on the floor on both ends and it’s our job to go execute it. I think we were very prepared tonight.”

After just two halves in the preseason together with their projected rotation, it was unclear how the Lakers would perform to open the season. It’s also one thing to do it in practice or even the preseason; it’s another to do it in a regular-season game against the league’s best defense. This was essentially the dress rehearsal the Lakers never got in exhibition play.

Add in all of the attention on LeBron and Bronny James officially playing together for the first time — and the Lakers’ track record of losing in James’ milestone games — and it was easy to see how this game could’ve gone sideways for the Lakers.

Instead, they delivered a statement win — taking a commanding lead in the second quarter that they would never relinquish despite Minnesota’s second-half surge — and reminded the league that they’re a legitimate threat in the deep Western Conference.

“That’s really encouraging as a coach and for our coaching staff that our guys can pick stuff up and then go execute it,” Redick said of the team quickly grasping its preparation for the Minnesota matchup.

No player exemplified that mindset more than Davis, who finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, one steal and three blocks in 38 minutes. Davis led the Lakers in shot attempts (23) and free throws (15) by wide margins as he assumed a higher-usage offensive role to go along with his extensive defensive responsibilities.

In a game that also featured James, Anthony Edwards, Randle and Rudy Gobert, Davis was clearly the best player on the floor.

“AD was phenomenal tonight,” Redick said. “Felt like he attacked the game the right way.”

The Lakers’ primary ballhandlers made a point to find Davis consistently, rarely going more than a couple of possessions without him at least touching the ball, if not directly generating a shot for himself or a teammate. For Davis, that meant more touches around the elbows and above the arc, with him directing the offense as a handoff and screening hub who could also attack off the dribble or with his jumper.

Davis flourished from all three levels, reveling in his matchup with Gobert, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Davis trash-talked Gobert multiple times after scoring over him or blocking his shot out of bounds, letting it be known he was the game’s most dominant player.

“I think this is a good first step of seeing how (JJ) wants me to play and how he wants me to be that hub and kind of orchestrate the offense in a sense,” Davis said.

There has been talk in the past about James eventually passing the torch to Davis, but it has yet to truly happen. From the moment he was hired, though, Redick has publicly empowered Davis and said he’d like to run more of the offense through him. That materialized on Tuesday, showing Redick’s claims weren’t hollow.

“He is the main focal point for us offensively and defensively,” James said. “And we got to make sure we continue to get him involved. … It’s our job as the ballhandlers to continue to feed them, find them. And AD did what AD does tonight. … Only one turnover with all the usage that he had tonight. It’s big time.”

Redick has been adamant about modernizing the Lakers’ shot selection, with a greater emphasis on 3-point attempts. The Lakers continued their shooting struggles to start the season, making only five of their 30 3-point attempts (an attempt figure lower than last season’s 28th-ranked average of 31.5 attempts per game). No player made more than one 3.

But that meant a steady diet of shots at the rim and in the paint, with the Lakers scoring 72 paint points (compared to just 40 for Minnesota) and attempting 25 free throws. They also refrained from inefficient 2-pointers: Of the Lakers’ 95 shots, only six were outside the paint but inside the 3-point arc — the dreaded midrange area Redick is trying to excise.

“We were able to get good shots in the paint,” Redick said. “You can want to shoot a lot of 3s, but if you’re getting good shots in the paint, that’s good offense for us.”

The Lakers made up for their lackluster shooting by winning the possession battle — an area they often lost last season. Their structure and attention to detail offensively led to them only turning the ball over seven times — fewer turnovers against the Timberwolves than any opponent had last season.

They also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds — led by four from Austin Reaves — and forced 16 Minnesota turnovers. That allowed the Lakers to take 10 more shots than the Timberwolves, which might’ve been the difference in the game.

“We can offset bad shooting nights from 3 if we have more possessions,” Redick said.

The Lakers are often left out of national conversations about the next tier of Western Conference playoff teams behind Oklahoma City, Denver, Dallas and Minnesota. But they should be right there with Phoenix, Memphis, Golden State, New Orleans and Sacramento — if not ahead of some or most of those teams — this season. They have the best duo of that group, and arguably the best starting lineup.

Los Angeles had a top-three offense over the second half of last season and closed the campaign 18-6 with its current starting lineup. They had the talent — they just needed more structure and creativity on both sides of the ball. Redick has provided that boost, making the Lakers’ gamble on the first-time head coach look shrewd up to this point.

Redick’s postgame message to his team, after they doused him in water, was to remain even-keeled — to not overreact or forget the level of focus, preparation and effort it took for them to win the game.

But make no mistake: The Lakers passed their first test of the season decisively, executing Redick’s process-driven vision to near-perfection.

“We all bought into what he’s trying to build,” Davis said. “I like him a lot, and I like what he’s trying to build here, what he’s doing. Now it’s our job as players to kind of buy into what he’s preaching and to try to keep this going.”

(Photo of JJ Redick and LeBron James: Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)