Old JJ Redick comments shed light on how Lakers can become offensive juggernaut https://t.co/2w4QCX6KGy
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) September 20, 2024
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is something an enigma heading into his first year at the helm. A recent clip offers a promising sign.
Regardless of how people feel about the hiring of JJ Redick, few dispute his knowledge of the game. Redick played a long and productive NBA career, transitioned to an analyst role that saw him evolve as an educator, and will now join the Los Angeles Lakers with the expectation of translating his success.
One of the primary reasons many are keeping an open mind despite his lack of experience is the simple fact that Redick has intriguing ideas about how to transform the Lakers’ stagnant offense.
Los Angeles finished the 2023-24 season ranked No. 15 in the NBA in offensive rating. There were peaks during which the Lakers looked the part of an elite team on that end of the floor, but the general tone of the season was inconsistency across the board.
In an appearance on Hasan Minahj Doesn’t Know, Redick explained what a five-out offense is meant to be—and hinted at how that might apply to the Lakers.
“I think it’s a little more nuanced than just saying it’s five-out. And every team is different. In the NBA, you want to maximize spacing. That’s what it comes down to. So for the Denver Nuggets, they want to score in the paint. So when they go five-out, it’s to get to the paint.
Redick continued:
“I think when people say, ‘Oh, everybody’s just spaced five-out!’ And people think it’s this guy going to his bag every single time and jacking a three. That’s not what it is. Five-out is just a way to maximize spacing so that whatever your particular team likes to do and wants to do, and can do well, you can run different actions out of five-out.”
The Lakers may or may not play five-out on offense, but Redick’s recent comments about the team suggest it could be a big part of what the team does.
Five-out offense could transform Lakers into offensive juggernaut
Los Angeles was its own worst enemy on offense in 2024-25, seemingly deprioritizing areas of strength. It ranked No. 8 in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage, yet made the conscious decision to shoot at such a low volume that it finished at No. 28 in three-point field goal attempts.
A five-out offense wouldn’t necessarily entail that the Lakers shoot more threes, but Redick has made it clear that he wants his team to attempt outside shots with a brighter green light.
With an increased emphasis on three-point shooting, spacing will already improve—and Anthony Davis will be at the heart of what happens from there. Redick has informed Davis that he will be the hub of the offense, which makes the five-out approach even more likely.
Davis isn’t necessarily known for his three-point shooting, but he buried 33.3 percent of his 2.7 attempts per game between 2017-18 and 2019-20, and has the skill to work the perimeter.
As Redick describes it, the five-out offense would not only emphasize three-point shooting, but the Lakers’ ability to run any action they choose. He used the Denver Nuggets as an example, citing how their goal is to generate points in the paint.
The fact that Redick has already diagnosed how Denver manages to do so bodes well for Los Angeles’ defense against its rival, as well as its own offense with Davis as a focal point.
Los Angeles has a surplus of playmakers and shot creators between Davis, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, D’Angelo Russell, and Gabe Vincent. It’s also added shooters such as Dalton Knecht and the all-but-new Max Christie, who re-signed after previously struggling to secure sufficient playing time.
Redick’s offense will be more nuanced than prioritizing a single outcome, of course, but this thorough breakdown of a five-out approach offers an intriguing insight into how the Lakers can dominate with Davis at the heart of what they do.
Any team with Davis and LeBron James already has that potential. It’s up to the coach to unlock it—and Redick is saying the right things to imply he can do so.
Great podcast with Hassan Minhaj. Totally worth watching for Lakers fans. Really impressive discussion of basketball by JJ Redick. Really lets you get a good idea of how JJ Redick thinks.
Minhaj is pretty funny guy but this podcast clearly showcases JJ’s basketball intelligence. Covered lots of great topics. Not your usual subjects. Man, can’t wait to see how Lakers look under JJ.
Nobody is questioning J.J.’s well-established podcasting abilities. It’s his ability to make in-game decisions and adjustments. That being said this was one of the better explanations of what generally gets an over-simplified turn in modern media. Even if we run strictly 5-out sets (we won’t) this teams’s bread and butter will come from scoring in the paint. It’s 2 best scoring plays in the half court are LBJ getting downhill and AD with the ball on the move 10’ and in. After that there’s a pretty big drop to Reaves and Rui in the paint, at the midrange and out to the 3.
Lastly, Volume without intent or forethought is just that: louder and more of it, generally messy and inefficient. I’ll be fine with 30-35 smart 3 pointers, but if the solution is, as Reddick himself alludes to as being silly, just jacking up 3’s…we will lose more than we can afford to. There is a short list of players who live with the 3 point green light on this team: DLO, Rui, LBJ, and Reaves. Of that group I expect only DLo and LBj to shoot close to 8 3 pointers/game. Maybe Rui, depending on how much he plays. Rui is shaping up to be my big wild card this season. He has the singular ability to put the defense in a bind from multiple positions. Other than LBJ, of course.
In short, I’m slightly dubious this one philosophical approach to scoring the basketball will “transform” the Lakers beyond what the roster is capable of achieving. Like Vogel and Ham before him (all of whom said roughly the same things in interviews at various points) Reddick has a roster with inherent flaws built in. The real question folks should be asking us if Reddick can overcome those flaws better than his predecessors? Cause I’ll bet if one took 5 minutes of their time they could go back and find Ham talking about how 5 Out will “unlock this or that” or Vogel saying they want to see more good looks from three and both saying AD should/could shoot more of them. That is old news, now, with the real question being can the current coach overcome the deficiencies of the front office? That’s the only question that matters now.
This debate is all about is analytics and the Lakers finishing 8th in 3P% but 29th in 3PAs and 3PMs.
JJ wants the Lakers to take 35-40 threes per game instead of their 29th worst 31 3PAs per game. Analytics clearly says LAL needs to take and make more threes in the modern era, especially when they are a top-10 team in 3P%.
We’re not going to see wild increases in threes attempted and made but an offense and play calls designed to create wide open threes for the better shooters on the team. We may also see shooting be a big factor in any trades we make before the deadline.
Make no mistake. Lakers will be top 10 in 3PAs and 3PMs by the end of this season imo.