Tuesday night marked JJ Redick’s first regular season outing as a head coach at any level beyond his sons’ elementary-grade rec games. No problem. Although hurdles and learning lessons are certain to arise, the all-time Duke basketball scorer and former 15-year NBA journeyman sharpshooter looked the part of a savvy leader in improving to 1-0 as his Los Angeles Lakers delivered a 110-103 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
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Well-orchestrated strategy. Well-practiced execution.
Both were on display in Los Angeles’ opening possession of the third quarter alone, with the ball touching the hands of four Lakers and culminating in an emphatically symphonic alley-oop connection between relay lobber LeBron James and towering flusher Anthony Davis:
This is pure filth from JJ Redick to start the third quarter. A 1-4 High Iverson set with Reaves coming across, the play, AD cross screening for LBJ to go set an empty side slip screen for Reaves. Pocket pass from Reaves forces the Gobert help which sets up the AD lob. Whew. pic.twitter.com/tDgkNsF11d
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) October 23, 2024
That play, bumping their lead to 57-42 fresh out of the break, drew the above “pure filth” descriptor from The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie in spotlighting early indicators of the 40-year-old JJ Redick’s innate coaching acumen.
The Lakers roster includes one Duke basketball product in 2018-19 Blue Devil one-and-done wing and No. 10 overall draft pick Cam Reddish, now in his second season in Los Angeles. However, Redick didn’t call Reddish’s number against the Timberwolves.
Redick, Reddish, Davis, and James — times two, as Redick goes down as the head coach who officially entered Bronny James and LeBron James into the history books as the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game — now gear up to host the Phoenix Suns at 10 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN).
Phoenix’s cast features three of the ACC-leading 24 NBA Blue Devils on opening-week rosters across the league in Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones, and Mason Plumlee.
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