JJ Redick Emphasizes Consistent Effort Ahead of Lakers’ First Rematch With Timberwolves
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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick said his team must establish a nightly standard of effort as it prepares for Friday’s home meeting with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the club that eliminated Los Angeles in the first round of last season’s playoffs.
The Lakers opened the 2025-26 campaign with a loss to the Golden State Warriors and now face a Minnesota roster that remains largely intact from last spring’s five-game series, minus backup guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker. “We have to build a habit of playing that hard every single night,” Redick told reporters at Crypto.com Arena, recalling how the Timberwolves’ size and physicality quickly overwhelmed Los Angeles during the 2024 postseason.
Redick acknowledged he mishandled the week between clinching the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed and the Game 1 defeat at home. “From the moment we secured the third seed on that Friday night against Houston through when we played Game 1 on Saturday, I would have done that completely different,” he said.
The former NBA guard added that personal experience fuels his approach. As a player, he often circled early-season dates against teams that had ended his previous playoff runs. “It’s gonna be there,” he said of the motivation factor. “There very likely will be some clips from that series…this is what the standard is gonna be.”
Los Angeles made several offseason additions, including Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia, while core stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James return. Redick, who received a contract extension after guiding the Lakers to a 53-29 record in his debut season, set broad goals for year two: “My goal is for us to win as many days as possible and enjoy doing that…Did I maximize the group? Did people enjoy coming in the building and going to work every day? If the answer to those two questions is yes, then I did a good job as a coach.”
Tip-off against Minnesota is set for Friday night in Los Angeles as the Lakers attempt to avoid an 0-2 start and exact a measure of revenge against a familiar postseason foe.
Source: Lakers Nation
