Lakers' JJ Redick Explains Necessary Adjustment for Thunder Series
The Los Angeles Lakers face a challenging second-round playoff series against the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, who are coming off a dominant first-round sweep. Lakers head coach JJ Redick acknowledges the need to adjust his timeout strategy to counter the Thunder's explosive scoring runs. The series begins Tuesday, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading a high-powered Thunder offense and LeBron James anchoring the veteran Lakers squad.
- ▪The Oklahoma City Thunder are the No. 1 seed and reigning NBA champions, led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
- ▪JJ Redick plans to use timeouts more strategically to combat the Thunder's ability to go on scoring runs.
- ▪The Thunder swept the Phoenix Suns in the first round, winning most games by double-digit margins.
- ▪Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 33.8 points and 8 assists per game in the first round.
- ▪The Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets in six games to advance to this series.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
By Matt AudiletContributing Sports WriterShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberSee more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.The Los Angeles Lakers have the odds stacked against them as they enter their second-round playoff series against the No. 1 seed, reigning NBA-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.The Thunder, led by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, have a high-powered offense capable of scoring in bunches. And in order to slow these scoring bursts, Lakers head coach JJ Redick plans to take a different approach with his available timeouts."They're really good at runs," Redick said during Monday's practice. "“I've got to be more diligent than I normally am.
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