The JJ Redick era in Los Angeles is about to enter year two. His inaugural season as Lakers head coach started really strong... then got a little dicey... then got strong again... then ended unceremoniously with a first-round exit at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team won 50 games in the regular season — pretty good! — but that was quickly washed away by how outclassed the Lakers were in the postseason.
Now with a full season of Luka Dončić approaching and a (potentially) more reliable center position with Deandre Ayton in the lineup, Redick must learn from his mistakes as a rookie. Players are awarded grace to make mistakes in their first seasons, and coaches should be, too.
Potentially the biggest change Redick needs to make as a sophomore? Getting out of his own way.
JJ Redick might need to simplify his system in year two
The first few months of JJ Redick's coaching career were thrilling. He was running plays that seemingly nobody in the NBA had ever seen before. His basketball genius was on full display, and opponents didn't know how to react to Redick's attack. The Lakers offense was humming... until it hit a wall, opponents got film, and other coaches figured out how to stifle Redick's approach. Again, the team still won 50 games; but by the time the season was ending, the Lakers didn't feel like the powerhouse they played like early on.
This year, it might behoove Redick to simplify things a bit. He has Luka and LeBron on his team — there's enough talent to beat other teams without outsmarting yourself with NBA 2K-style play design. That doesn't mean Redick should stifle his creativity as a play-caller, and he should definitely still try to keep things fresh on a nightly basis. But a coach can be too involved; Redick needs to make sure he doesn't earn that label.
A stacked West will make things tough on the Lakers
The Houston Rockets traded for Kevin Durant (and added former Laker Dorian Finney-Smith) this offseason. The Thunder are still the Thunder, while the Clippers and Nuggets both made significant moves to bolster their rosters, too. There's power everywhere in the Western Conference.
But that doesn't give JJ any excuses. He's in his second season with a roster talented enough to make a postseason push. If he gets out of his own way, maximizes the talents of both Luka and LeBron when they're sharing the floor, and figures out how to be elite on offense or defense... then there's no reason the Lakers can't be a top three team in the West.