The Los Angeles Lakers entered Game 4 against the Minnesota Timberwolves with one goal: tie the series at 2–2 and bring momentum back to Los Angeles.
After seeing a 40-year-old LeBron James pour in 38 points in Game 3, a flu-stricken Luka Doncic held to just 17 points, and Minnesota flat-out blitz the Lakers early, something had to change.
JJ Redick did make a change — just not the one anyone expected.
Redick’s historic — and risky — second-half strategy
In a move that stunned not only Lakers fans but the entire NBA, Redick became the first coach in the play-by-play era to play the same five players for an entire half in a playoff game.
That’s right: Doncic, James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith played all 24 minutes of the second half without a single substitution.
Facing just a 3-point halftime deficit, Redick doubled down on his starters. No tweaks. No fresh legs. No adjustments.
Shockingly, it almost worked.
The Lakers outscored Minnesota 36–23 in the third quarter and took a 10-point lead into the fourth. But reality — and exhaustion — set in fast. The Timberwolves stormed back, ending the game on a 32–19 run, punctuated by a missed Austin Reaves game-tying 3 at the buzzer.
The Lakers have no depth
Sunday’s loss should sound every alarm in Los Angeles.
The last time a coach even came close to Redick’s iron man strategy was Tom Thibodeau with the Bulls back in 2013 — playing Jimmy Butler, Marco Belinelli, Nate Robinson, and Joakim Noah the entire second half in a playoff game. And even then, the Bulls were barely hanging on.
Visibly, the Lakers looked gassed in the closing minutes — legs heavy, decisions slow, shots short. And Redick's refusal to adjust only added fuel to the fire.
Banking on a 40-year-old LeBron and a still-recovering Doncic to carry the load for 48 minutes simply isn't sustainable. No matter how good the February trade felt, this roster is running on fumes.
The deeper problem?
The Lakers’ supposed "depth" pieces — Jaxson Hayes, Gabe Vincent, Jared Vanderbilt — have become total non-factors.
- Hayes, despite starting all four games, hasn’t played more than nine minutes in any outing.
- Vincent and Vanderbilt? Practically invisible.
- The Lakers have no functional big man to deploy, forcing Redick to over-rely on a stretched small-ball lineup.
When you have no bench, your stars burn out.
The solution: Build for Dončić — now
If the Lakers can't scratch and claw their way out of the first round, the front office has no choice:
This has to become Luka Doncic’s team.
LeBron will likely take a pay cut this offseason to help restructure the roster, but Father Time is undefeated. The Lakers must pivot to surrounding Doncic with legitimate two-way help, size, and shooting. It’s going to take more than a failed Mark Williams trade to fix these glaring issues.
It’s going to take a hard, honest look at the reality:
The Lakers aren’t built to win right now. But they can be — if they start building around the right future.