"That was a blatant trip" - JJ Redick takes sly dig at referees for Lakers' last minute collapse to Timberwolves
LA Lakers head coach JJ Redick now finds himself in an unenviable 1-3 deficit against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round. In Redick's mind, however, the referees missed a crucial call late in the fourth quarter of their pivotal Game 4 loss on Sunday.
In the media availability following the 116-113 Wolves victory, Redick was asked about his "vantage point" on Lakers star Luka Doncic stumbling to his feet and having to call timeout with 33 seconds left in regulation. Being his usual straightforward self, Redick minced no words in giving his perspective:
"Let's just start with, Luka got tripped. That was a blatant trip. He doesn't just fall on his own," Redick said. "We've watched it, he gets tripped. We should have been at the free throw line."
In the sequence described by Redick, Minnesota was up 114-113 as Doncic was about to bring the ball across the halfcourt line. As Wolves forward Jaden McDaniels closely guarded him, Doncic's left foot appears to make some contact with McDaniels' right foot, causing the Slovenian guard to lose his balance and stumble to the floor.
The referees, however, did not blow their whistle on illegal contact from either player. In his own post-game interview, Doncic voiced his disagreement with the non-call:
"I think I got tripped for sure," he said.
As for Doncic's former teammate-turned-head coach, the "tripping" was not solely to blame for the Lakers' Game 4 loss. However, Redick was adamant that the refs made a blunder in their decision not to call a foul:
"That's not an excuse for why we lost, but we got fouled," Redick added. "You know, we had a chance to go up."
JJ Redick sets record with unconventional coaching strategy in Game 4
In his first year as head coach of the Lakers, Redick has proven himself to be as fearless with his Xs and Os as he is with his fiery rhetoric.
As the second half raged on, it became clear that Redick had faith in five players — Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith — and no one else. When the final buzzer sounded, the Lakers head coach had set a precedent.
According to Keerthika Uthayakumar, a statistician who analyzes NBA-related numbers and figures: "JJ Redick just became the first coach in the play-by-play era to play five players for an entire half in the playoffs."
Though this move was certainly audacious, the Lakers still lost the game by three. Redick will have to figure out some other scheme if his team is to stay alive after Game 5 on Wednesday.
