The Los Angeles Lakers were knocked out of the NBA playoffs on Wednesday night after they were handily defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round series.
After the game, and throughout the entirety of the series, much has been made of the coaching decisions of JJ Redick, who was leading an NBA team as a coach in the playoffs for the first time after a career spent playing in the league.
Redick raised eyebrows across the NBA world with his decision to play the same five players for the entirety of the second half in Game 4 of the series, which the Lakers would eventually drop. It was the first time in the history of the play-by-play era that the same five players had played a full second half of a playoff game.
Before Game 5, Redick lashed out at a reporter who asked about if and how his assistant coaches would be involved in substitution decisions in that night’s game. After the Lakers were knocked out, Redick received another sharp critique from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on Get Up.
“I don’t mean this in a personal way—JJ Redick coached very immaturely in this series,” Windhorst said. “He was still seething and upset about the previous game, to the point where Reggie Miller said on the broadcast last night that he had to try to calm him down in the pregame meeting, because JJ was acting, frankly, childishly.
“He stormed off of the pregame session with reporters. Regardless of the question, it’s not the way to start. And then, not only did he double down on his, frankly, irrational decision not to substitute for an entire half in a playoff game.”
Brian Windhorst calls out JJ Redick after the Lakers lost in 5 to the Timberwolves.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 1, 2025
"Reggie Miller said on the broadcast last night he had to try to calm him down in the pregame meeting because JJ was acting, frankly, childishly." pic.twitter.com/kRzpWvTE7j
Windhorst also noted that Redick’s decision to play Maxi Kleber, who had not played a single game with the Lakers since being traded to the team in February while he was injured, during crunch time, was shocking.
“He had never even practiced with the Lakers,” Windhorst said. “Maxi Kleber is on the court with five minutes to go in a two-possession game. That is not a rational decision. I’m sorry.”
Redick and the Lakers now sit at the start of a long offseason, where they will look to retool their roster and enter the 2025-26 season better prepared.
More NBA Playoffs on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst Rips JJ Redick for Coaching ‘Immaturely’ in Lakers-Wolves Series.
