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[Saba Sports News] Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is under heavy fire for a tactical decision that may have pushed his team to the brink of elimination.
Trailing the Minnesota Timberwolves 61-58 at halftime of Game 4 in their first-round series on Sunday at Target Center in Minneapolis, the Lakers came out strong. They opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run, fueled by four straight made three-pointers, and built a 94-84 lead heading into the fourth.
However, instead of using the 10-point cushion to rest his starters, Redick stuck with them. The first-year head coach played his starting five for the entire second half — all 24 minutes — marking the first time in the play-by-play era that the same five players logged an entire half in a playoff game.
While the Lakers still held a seven-point lead with five minutes remaining, fatigue clearly set in. The Timberwolves rallied and surged past them to secure a 116-113 win.
Redick’s decision drew widespread criticism from fans. In his postgame press conference, Redick explained that the team had agreed at halftime to take the risk.
Still, given that the Lakers were leaning heavily on a 40-year-old LeBron James and a less-than-fully-conditioned Luka Doncic, the decision proved costly.
Doncic struggled mightily in the fourth quarter, shooting just 1-for-6 and scoring five of his seven points from the free-throw line. James attempted only two shots in the fourth and missed both. A controversial missed call late in the game didn’t help their cause either.