Ahead of a critical Game 5 matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves, JJ Redick grew frustrated from a reporter’s question, causing him to storm off without taking further questions.
“Are you saying that because I’m inexperienced, and that was an inexperienced decision I made?” Redick fired back at a reporter, who wondered if Redick had an assistant coach he leaned on to avoid making decisions that backfire in the playoffs.
“You think I don’t talk to my assistants about substitutions every single timeout? … That’s a weird assumption,” Redick said, before putting the microphone down and heading back to his office.
JJ Redick abruptly left the press conference after being asked whether he plans to rely on his Lakers assistant coaches for fourth-quarter substitutions. pic.twitter.com/M9n8HGXH9Q
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 1, 2025
Since Sunday, Redick has been criticized a ton for his decision to play just five players throughout the entire second half. It was a major gamble in a critical game, but it didn’t pay off. The Lakers lost 116-113, and Redick’s strategy caught heat from fans and analysts.
Earlier this week, Philadelphia 76ers legend Charles Barkley chimed in on the conversation with some criticism of his own.
“The amount of weight that LeBron and Luka have to carry; LeBron is 40, Luka has to do a lot. To play those guys, them other guys are interchangeable. You can’t play a 40-year-old man in Game 4 with three more games to go. You’ve got to give guys a rest,” Barkley said.
“There’s physical fatigue, there is mental fatigue. There always was coaches, ‘Do you need a blow?’ And I’d say, ‘Yeah, give me a blow so I have something down the stretch.’ And them turnovers? Luka missed a layup. LeBron missed a layup, and they both had a couple of turnovers. That’s fatigue.”
Barkley felt strongly about Redick’s decision on Sunday, and he had a lot to say about the way the former Sixers guard handled the pushback on Wednesday as well.
“He’s just a little sensitive,” Barkley said of Redick on ‘NBA on TNT.’ “One of the things that people say is they never watch television. We all lie. All jocks watch television. He’s been getting criticized the last 48 hours for playing those guys, and he’s just sensitive. Everybody’s afraid to say, ‘I was wrong.’ All he had to do was say, ‘Hey, you know what? I shouldn’t have played those guys the whole second half,’ and that’s it. Then it would’ve been over.”
“He’s just sensitive…Everybody’s afraid to say ‘I was wrong.’ All he had to do was say, ‘I shouldn’t have played those guys the whole second half and that’s it.’ Then it would have been over.”
Charles Barkley reacts to JJ Redick’s press conference. https://t.co/RMwVAO38EK pic.twitter.com/OkmTx41cKp
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 1, 2025
A frustrated Lakers team entered Game 5 while trailing in the series 1-3. At halftime, the Lakers fell behind the Timberwolves 59-49. If Redick’s Lakers can claw their way back in and steal Game 5, they’ll head to Minnesota for Game 6 on Friday. If not, their 2025 NBA Playoff run will be a one-and-done.
