LA Times defends JJ Redick

The Lakers are down 3-0 to the Thunder, which is usually when everyone starts hunting for the coach to blame. But the more interesting thing around this team right now is that JJ Redick seems to be surviving that reflex. The case for keeping him is pretty simple — the Lakers’ biggest problems look structural, not schematic, and this series has made that brutally obvious. ### Why isn’t Redick taking the full hit? Because the series gap has looked bigger than one coach’s whiteboard. The Lakers have been shorthanded, Oklahoma City has kept winning with depth and pace, and even the most frustrating stretches have often come from lineup limitations Redick can’t magic away in May. The Los Angeles Times piece on May 9 framed his approach as narrow and steady — basically, one phase of the game at a time instead of spiraling over the whole mess. (latimes.com) ### What’s the strongest argument for him? It’s not that everything has worked. It’s that the team hasn’t quit on him. Redick has leaned into a player-led culture, and in a 3-0 series hole that matters more than coach-speak usually does. If a locker room is tuning out a coach, you can usually feel it by now. The public read out of Los Angeles is the opposite — focused, accountable, still trying to solve the next possession instead of staging a slow-motion collapse. (latimes.com) ### So what is actually breaking? Depth, fit, and margin for error. Oklahoma City has been able to survive foul trouble and bench stretches without losing control of games. The Lakers have not. One NBA.com recap from Game 2 captured the shape of the problem: the Thunder won 125-107 and their bench outscored the Lakers’ reserves 48-20. That’s not a tiny tactical leak. That’s the floor tilting. (latimes.com) ### Where does Rui Hachimura fit in? He’s part of the puzzle and part of the complication. Hachimura has shot the ball well in this run — NBA.com had him at 24-for-42 from 3 in the playoffs, 57.1%, through Game 2 of the Thunder series. But good production does not automatically settle the bigger roster question. The Lakers still have to decide what kind of frontcourt and wing mix they’re actually building, and Hachimura sits right in the middle of that decision because he’s useful without making the whole picture clean. (nba.com) ### Why does the draft combine matter here? Because this is when roster diagnosis turns into shopping. ESPN’s combine preview says the 2026 predraft process began Sunday in Chicago, with the combine starting Monday and all 30 teams there to evaluate prospects and do business. For the Lakers, that’s not background noise. It’s the first real window to look for cheaper, younger answers to the exact weaknesses this series has exposed. (api-hub.nba.com) ### Are the Lakers choosing a coach or a direction? Probably a direction. Firing Redick would be the easier headline, but it would also risk confusing symptom for cause. The harder question is whether the Lakers want to keep patching around stars with thin depth, or use this offseason to get younger and more coherent around the edges. This series has made that tradeoff impossible to ignore. (espn.com) ### What’s the bottom line? The Lakers can still lose this series badly and come away thinking Redick earned another year. That sounds strange, but turns out it’s the cleanest read. A 3-0 hole has exposed too many roster cracks to pretend one coaching change fixes them, and the calendar has already shifted from blame to build. (latimes.com)