Last night’s Game 1 went sideways in a hurry for the Lakers.
After getting out to a 28-21 first quarter lead, Los Angeles was outscored 96-67 over the final three frames by Anthony Edwards and Co. And Laker legend Magic Johnson believes a lot of it falls on the shoulders of head coach JJ Redick.
In about as scathing of a post as you’ll get out of the Hall of Famer, Magic called out the Lakers’ HC on his lack of in-game adjustments over the weekend.
“Coach JJ Redick did a great job all season but he didn’t do a good job for Game 1,” Johnson said. “The Lakers stood around on offense, played too much one-on-one basketball, and he didn’t make any necessary adjustments.”
Coach JJ Redick did a great job all season but he didn’t do a good job for Game 1. The Lakers stood around on offense, played too much one-on-one basketball, and he didn’t make any necessary adjustments.
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 20, 2025
Johnson’s remarks drew a reaction from fans in Laker Land.
“Defensive effort was absolutely atrocious,” Matt Mackowiak replied.
“Why you gotta call Coach out like that?” a user asked.
“JJ looked like a podcast host, not a playoff coach. Let’s hope Game 2 comes with adjustments, not monologues,” another said.
“It’s rich coming from a guy that quit after destroying the team,” a fan claimed.
“But had the nerve to come out to the ESPN reporters and tell them ‘it’s not about the X’s and O’s’ … BS, JJ ur team got outclassed and u got ur [expletive] out-coached!” another person exclaimed.
“Fair criticism but damn it’s his first game of the playoffs as a coach. Give the guy a damn break !” another fan commented. “I have faith in what this coaching staff tapped into with this team during the season and am confident you’ll see a different team come G2.”
Magic did call out the team as a whole in an earlier post, but it’s still noteworthy that he circled back to mention Redick by name.
LA is definitely going to have to go back to the drawing board for Tuesday’s game. But it’s only one loss and there’s still a long way to go in these playoffs.
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