Through trusting his staff and taking into account the moment, Lakers head coach JJ Redick has quickly become one of the best in the NBA at coaches’ challenges.
An NBA head coach has many responsibilities, from preparing the team for each game to deciding on rotations and devising plays for various in-game scenarios.
A relatively new aspect of the game for NBA coaches is the ability to challenge a call. The coaches’ challenge began during the 2019-20 season, so there aren’t long-standing traditions or tried and true strategies on how to approach using challenges in the NBA.
As a new coach, JJ Redick has found success in this department. Through Jan. 12, he has challenged 24 calls, with 15 being successful.
That’s a success rate of 62.5%, above the league average of 59.4%, according to the NBA. It’s also a stark improvement from last year when the Lakers were successful in just 53.9% of coaches’ challenges. That figure also would’ve placed them at No. 11 in the NBA last year, a large jump after ranking 22nd under Darvin Ham.
How did Redick, then, immediately become one of the best in the league at challenges? Well, he isn’t alone in his process. Speaking pregame before the team’s win over the Heat, Redick credited two of his assistants for helping him find success this season.
“Some of it is timeout situation, how many timeouts I have,” Redick said. “Time and score is somewhat important. You don’t have a lot of time for out-of-bounds calls, we got one the other night. [Assistant coach] Beau [Levesque] and [head video coordinator Michael Wexler] were on it real quick and we were able to get that one.
“That next one is sometimes challenging cause you might be able to win an out-of-bounds call, but is that worth it? So, I think generally the ones where you’re kind of going out on a limb a little bit, I obviously rely on those guys. And I told the team that in preseason. I said, ‘You can yell at me all you want, I’m going rely on Beau and Wex.’ If it’s going to prevent points, I think that’s where you kind of can take a risk a little bit, particularly if it’s later in the game.”
For Redick to be advised by his staff and make a decision before action begins again, they have to communicate at a blistering pace, which is rarely caught on the television feed.
A moment to decide whether to challenge or not popped up during this Lakers vs. Heat matchup.
Redick saw an out-of-bounds call go against the Lakers with 1:35 left to go and he immediately looked over at his assistants. After they nodded their head in approval, Redick challenged the call.
Below, you can see the Lakers’ setup to review footage and make these decisions quickly.
Photo provided by Dave McMenamin/ESPN
The call was overturned after review and the Lakers got back possession and their timeout during a pivotal moment. This helped ice the game as the Lakers snapped their three-game losing streak.
These are the decisions within games that can make or break a team. Thanks to consistently good work by Levesque and Wexler and Redick’s trust in them, this is one department where the Lakers shine.
No system will ever be perfect, but with nearly half of the season done, it’s clear that Redick and his staff are some of the best in the NBA when making those potentially crucial split-second decisions.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.