Magic Johnson took JJ Redick to task after the Lakers’ ugly Game 1 loss to the Timberwolves.
JJ Redick was hit with a rude awakening in his first playoff game as a head coach.
Redick’s Los Angeles Lakers got punked on their home floor by the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series on Saturday night, falling 117-95 in a game that quickly spiraled out of control early in the third quarter.
Afterward, Lakers legend Magic Johnson took Redick to task.
“Coach JJ Redick did a great job all season but he didn’t do a good job for Game 1,” Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The Lakers stood around on offense, played too much one-on-one basketball, and he didn’t make any necessary adjustments.”
Johnson continued: “Tonight was one of the Lakers worst performances this season. They were flat, had no energy, and they played like it was a regular season game.”
Los Angeles actually came out strong, leading 28-21 after the first quarter. But the game flipped in the second quarter, with the Timberwolves outscoring the Lakers 38-20 to take an 11-point lead into halftime. Minnesota then started the third quarter on an 11-0 run to balloon the margin to 22 points, and it never got back to single digits the rest of the game.
LA’s defense got roasted for much of the night, allowing 51.2% shooting overall and 21-of-42 from 3-point range. While some may chalk this up to a hot Timberwolves shooting night, there was simply not enough resistance to make life more difficult for them.
And it’s not like this was just an Anthony Edwards explosion. While Edwards went for 22 points, he was a willing playmaker with nine assists.
It was actually Jaden McDaniels who led Minnesota in scoring, pouring in 25 points on 11-of-13 from the field and 3-of-3 from 3-point land. Naz Reid added 23 points off the bench.
Redick and the Lakers are going to have to make some major adjustments to bounce back in Game 2.
We should expect a much better performance from LeBron James, and the defensive effort should be more spirited as well. LA can’t afford to head to Minnesota in a big hole.
