In Game 4, Los Angeles Lakers head coach J.J. Redick implemented two notable strategic changes that nearly propelled the team to victory in Minnesota, as detailed by Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Los Angeles Lakers Go Big And Go Long
First, Redick replaced center Jaxson Hayes with Dorian Finney-Smith to begin the third quarter. This move, which seemed increasingly likely given Hayes’s limited impact in the series (seven points and eight rebounds total, with no game exceeding double-digit minutes), allowed the Lakers to enhance their offensive spacing and defensive versatility.
Second, Redick opted to use the same five players for the entirety of the second half. Buha notes that Gabe Vincent nearly entered the game, but Redick ultimately decided to maintain the same unit for the full 24 minutes. “I think once you’ve kind of made that decision, and (the players) all are in, you just gotta trust them,” Redick explained.
The strategy yielded immediate results. The Lakers opened the second half with an 11-0 run and outscored the Timberwolves 36-23 in the third quarter, marking their highest-scoring quarter of the series. The Lakers held a seven-point lead with 5:06 remaining, positioning themselves to potentially tie the series. However, a series of late-game errors prevented them from closing out the victory.
Despite the extended playing time, players did not attribute the loss to fatigue. “I don’t think fatigue had anything to do with that,” LeBron James stated. “Just missing some point-blank shots, you know? We were getting into what we wanted to get into. We just weren’t able to convert.”