Give them a break, JJ!
The Minnesota Timberwolves just beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 116-113, in an instant classic. Minnesota takes a 3-1 lead in the series, and while we've watched LeBron James overcome 3-1 deficits in the past, this will obviously be a tall task.
I'm not putting this loss solely on JJ Redick — I don't really want to "pin" this loss on anyone, because it was a sensational game that Los Angeles was in until the final possession. But Redick played the lineup of LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith the entire second half. Literally. They didn't get a break!
JJ Redick did not make a substitution in the 2nd half.
— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) April 27, 2025
His last lineup change came with 3:12 left in 2nd quarter.@SuperStatsDave says LeBron played the last 37:46 of the game while Luka played the final 33:49.
LeBron led the game in minutes played with 46, Hachimura played 41, Luka played 45, DFS played 40 and Reaves played 35.
I'm all for trusting your guys, but this is trusting your guys to the extreme. Games in the playoffs are going to be close, and trusting your bench to not burn the house down for four minutes is vital... but apparently Redick didn't feel confident with anyone on the bench for even a second.
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Lakers lineup looked gassed in final minutes
If you thought Luka looked like he was about to keel over in the final six minutes of this game, it's because he probably was! I'm not going to give JJ Redick coaching advice, but any NBA player is going to be gassed if they play an entire half, especially one as intense as Game 4 was tonight.
I also don't know if LA would have won if this lineup got breaks during the second half — but I do know that fatigue played a part down the stretch in this game, and it was much more apparent for Los Angeles than it was for Minnesota.