For a person who reveres Ernest Hemingway enough that he named his podcast after “The Old Man and the Sea,” rookie Lakers coach JJ Redick should be familiar with one of his favorite author’s mantras.
“The first draft of everything is s—.”
It’s hard to know how much of this Lakers season is a continuation of the draft they filed a year ago — possessions routinely ending in stagnant isolation for LeBron James or Anthony Davis, the Lakers to whom the ball goes. Or, by hiring Redick, perhaps the Lakers have made a significant edit, adding an emphasis on better organization and an increase in three-point shooting.
Redick’s now dormant podcast was named “The Old Man and the Three” after all.
The Lakers begin their new season Tuesday with a mandate for change. A second-straight loss to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs with just one total win between the series will force that.
Yet change might be hard to come by when the players on the court are largely the same. And change isn’t always for the better, with every day another click on James’ odometer that will, in one of the NBA’s great mysteries, eventually max out.
Read more: Bronny James shines and Quincy Olivari makes a pitch to stay with the Lakers
So what are the actionable things within the team’s control? Can Redick’s philosophies fundamentally change who the Lakers are, unlocking even more out of the most established players?
We’re about to find out.
Same as it ever was
Whenever you talk about a team and its fortunes, you have to start with the team’s ability to stay as close to healthy as possible. Injuries undoubtedly impacted the Lakers’ fortunes last season. Some of Darvin Ham’s lineup inconsistencies and shuffling of starters can be tied to Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura both missing portions of the season early in the year. And Gabe Vincent, the team’s big signing in free agency, never was healthy and didn’t factor in the regular season, leaving the Lakers without two of their best perimeter defenders in him and Vanderbilt.
While the rotation got hit, the top of the roster was remarkably healthy. Davis missed only six games. Same for D’Angelo Russell. James sat just 11. Austin Reaves played all 82.
While the 124 combined games missed by Vincent and Vanderbilt absolutely factored in how the team performed, it’s safe to say it influenced it less than having the four leading scorers almost always on the court.
So yes, the Lakers fortunes this season will be tied to health, an area where James’ age and Davis’ past should always have them feeling a little uneasy. Both players are coming off the Olympics and have looked in excellent shape during the preseason. But Redick knows that those minutes in Paris could have a long-term toll and will assuredly be monitoring it.
Is there another level for Anthony Davis?
The early-season attention around the Lakers will center on James and his son and teammate, Bronny, who will make history when they become the first father-son duo to share the court together in the NBA. That moment could come as soon as Tuesday, and the possibility of it has driven much of the discussion around the team.
Yet, somewhat quietly, Davis has been one of the best players in the league this preseason.
“Being aggressive every time down the floor. Being dominant every game. Doing my job, doing my part in helping this team do what we got to do,” Davis said of his expectations for himself. “That’s taking on a matchup defensively, taking on a role offensively, being a leader of the team, carrying us in games, playoffs, whatever it takes. We can’t rely heavily on our individual games and obviously it’s a team effort and what we’re trying to build.
“But for me personally, just taking it upon myself to make sure that I’m even better than what I was last year.”
He averaged 21.8 points in just 25.6 minutes (the second highest preseason scoring average) — the kind of production and opportunity with which Redick said he hoped to empower Davis.
“I think we have not only one of the best players in the world, but one of the most unique players in the world in Anthony Davis because there are very few people that can do the things he can do at his size in terms of his ball handling, his skill level offensively and certainly the fact that he’s one of the best defensive players in the world,” Redick said before training camp.
He’s also tried to get Davis to be more comfortable behind the three-point line, something he showed in his preseason finale in Phoenix when he made four in the first quarter.
“It’s the willingness that is exciting right now. … He’s got to be willing. I think that’s the most important thing. I drew out the first play of the game for him to shoot a three. And he knocked it down,” Redick said after the game. “And, whether that’s confidence or relief, like he just, he was willing to shoot tonight. And we want him to be willing to shoot. That doesn’t mean he’s going to take nine threes a game. I don’t think that’s realistic. But he’s got to sprinkle it in there. “
Offense will never be the main draw for Davis. He returned to the All-Defensive first team for the first time in three seasons, though he’s still never won defensive player of the year.
Asked on media day what parts of his defensive game are undervalued, he didn’t hold back.
“All of it,” Davis said. “Every part.”
Internal growth
One of the most common critiques around the league when it’s come to the Lakers has been the team’s inability to win on the margins, to stack the little kinds of wins that can build momentum and amount to something bigger.
Under Redick, the team and organization has been committed to the kinds of minutiae that he values. They’ve made hires to add to their analytics department and medical teams — areas Redick actively monitors.
The coaching staff, led by former head coaches Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan, has impressed people around the team. And the general “vibes,” in the words of multiple players, have been pretty good — the kind of thing you’d expect early in the tenure of any new coach and his staff.
“They have assembled a coaching staff that’s holding everybody accountable,” LeBron James said. “But more importantly, they just are making sure that we’re taking in all the details, taking in all the information at a pace that’s good for all of us.”
The Lakers seem primed to give Reaves, Max Christie and rookie Dalton Knecht significant opportunities to play crucial roles, with Reaves set to take an even bigger leap under Redick’s system.
Read more: Rookie Dalton Knecht shows why the Lakers think they got a steal in the draft
At least that’s the plan. The real tests, most think, will come when adversity arises and adaptation is required.
On Sunday, two days before his first real game as a coach, Redick sounded like someone who understood that.
“You do look for ways to maximize your players within some of your own philosophies, and then you also have to have some leeway to that to give them what they need to do [something] that maybe goes against your philosophies,” he said. “And to be honest with you, there hasn’t been a lot of that. It’s mostly been same page and buy-in from everybody: coaches and players alike.”
The early version of the Lakers, the one Redick has seen in practices and in the limited moments with the best players on the court in the preseason games, has possibly seemed good enough.
But like any Hemingway fan knows, those first drafts always leave room for improvement.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
