In a do-or-die game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers chose the latter and now head home just one round into the playoffs. But while there is plenty of blame to go around for the Lakers’ failure, head coach JJ Redick is the one catching the most heat this morning.
Prior to their fateful Game 5 against the Timberwolves, Redick was asked in his pre-game press conference if he intended to lean on his assistants more in Game 5 than Game 4. That question seemed to set Redick off, who replied angrily before storming out of the interview.
Redick’s meltdown led to a brief debate between Inside the NBA’s Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. Smith argued that Redick was in the right by storming off.
“I think in that instance, he was actually right,” Smith said. “But I think the decision he made (in Game 4) was incorrect.”
But Barkley disagreed. He had just one word to describe Redick: Sensitive.
“But you can’t be sensitive,” Barkley replied.
“He’s just sensitive…Everybody’s afraid to say ‘I was wrong.’ All he had to do was say, ‘I shouldn’t have played those guys the whole second half and that’s it.’ Then it would have been over.”
Charles Barkley reacts to JJ Redick’s press conference. https://t.co/RMwVAO38EK pic.twitter.com/OkmTx41cKp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 1, 2025
“He’s not sensitive,” Smith said back. “The guy is jabbing at him. He was like ‘Are you gonna lean on your assistants?’ Of course, he talks to his assistants. But you can’t play five guys in the fourth quarter. Period. If your assistants say it, you say it, the GM says it, whoever says it, don’t do it tonight.”
“Dude, he is just a little sensitive,” Barkley concluded. “Listen, one of the things people say that they never watch television. We all lie. All jocks watch television. He’s been getting criticized the last 48 hours for playing those guys. And he is just sensitive. Everybody is afraid to say ‘I was wrong.’ All he had to do was say, ‘I shouldn’t have played those guys the whole second half and that’s it.’ Then it would have been over.”
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Shaquille O’Neal weighed in at the end, declaring that however Redick reaches his decision, it had better be the right one, or “it’s over.”
“As a coach, as a player, you ride or die with your decisions,” said O’Neal. “Is he inexperienced? Yes, he made a decision. Some say it was wrong, he thought it was right. Doesn’t matter. What matters is if you don’t win this game tonight, it’s over. That’s all that matters.”
Well, it’s certainly over now.
The offseason of soul-searching begins now.
Related: Charles Barkley Has Warning For Lakers Coach JJ Redick