The Los Angeles Lakers entered Wednesday night facing elimination, trailing 3–1 in their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. With a chance to play with pride and extend the series on their home floor in front of a passionate L.A. crowd, the Lakers simply failed to rise to the occasion.
Los Angeles trailed for most of the game and ultimately fell 103–96. Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert dominated throughout, posting a monster stat line of 27 points and 24 rebounds.
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Redick’s decision to stick with a small-ball lineup for nearly the entire game, despite the Timberwolves’ size advantage, drew immediate backlash. Outside of Maxi Kleber—who played just four minutes in his first game back in months—the Lakers offered little front court resistance.
7-foot-0 center Jaxson Hayes, who had started every game in the series until Game 5, was benched entirely. The Wolves capitalized, grabbing 18 offensive boards to the Lakers’ eight and totaled 54 rebounds to the Lakers’ 37.
All of this sparked outrage towards Redick:
“JJ Redick should be ashamed,” a fan said.
“It’s pretty hilarious that JJ Redick got so upset at people questioning his rotations that he decided to double down and play no center just to give Rudy Gobert the best playoff game of his career,” another fan posted.
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“JJ Redick should be fired tonight idc he needs to be fired. 17 offensive rebounds for the Wolves and you put in a guy that hasn’t played since the Obama administration,” a person jokingly said.
“Lakers rim protection is nonexistent and JJ Redick not even attempting to give Jaxon Hayes a run out there, just a bad coach tbh,” someone else added.
One more fan commented, “JJ Redick stormed out that presser just to come out and give Maxi Kleber his first minutes in 3 months in an ELIMINATION game lmao.”
Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ RedickKirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Lakers’ season comes to a close after finishing the regular season as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. However, under Redick’s first playoff run as head coach, the team struggled to adapt from game to game, a weakness that ultimately cost them.
Related: JJ Redick’s Fiery Response to Reporter’s Controversial Question Leaves Fans Shocked