JJ Redick is about to enter his first playoff series as the head coach for the Lakers. A lot was made of his appointment. Many claimed this was the work of LeBron James. Detractors accused him of hiring his podcast partner as the Lakers’ head coach, despite LeBron not being the one calling the shots in LA. However, since then, we’ve watched JJ silence those haters one at a time. But tonight, we saw something unusual from the head coach as he previewed the upcoming series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

JJ Redick fielded questions from the media as the Lakers conducted practice ahead of the T-Wolves series. The Lakers’ head coach talked about the return of Maxi Kleber and Austin Reaves’ rise to stardom, among other things. However, when a reporter asked about their preparation for the Timberwolves, JJ revealed a side of him we haven’t seen before.

“The first thing was getting organized. In some ways, we don’t do it right, especially for me, the first time. It’s a little bit like when I first took the job, and I’ve got the draft-free agency, Summer League, and it’s all just happening at once. It’s like, ‘Whoa, what just happened? I’ve got to hire my staff. What just happened?’, “ recalled a flustered JJ Redick.

It seems preparing for his first NBA Playoff series has gotten to JJ Redick. His usual, calm, and organized demeanor seemed absent as he thought back to the time he first took the Lakers job. But can you blame him? The Lakers are facing last year’s Western Conference finalist in JJ’s first playoff series as a coach. And even though the Timberwolves lost KAT to the New York Knicks, they remain a force of nature in the league with players like Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert among their ranks.

Even still, JJ revealed the intense preparation the Lakers have undertaken ahead of this Playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. And it’s not just the players. The entire Lakers organization is hard at work to ensure that these upcoming games go as they’ve envisioned.

JJ Redick spills the beans on Lakers’ team meeting ahead of Minnesota games

Preparing for a Playoff series can’t be easy as a head coach. After all, it’s not like the regular season with 82 games deciding your fate. No, the Playoffs are much less forgiving. In the course of 7 games (if it goes there), teams must battle it out to determine who’s the top dog. So it’s natural for JJ Redick to be anxious ahead of the Timberwolves series. However, from what he revealed, JJ seems to be on top of things.

Redick said, “We’ve been very intentional starting last week about how we wanted this week to look, how we wanted what we present to the team, when, all that stuff. We had six hours of meetings today, a few hours yesterday. We feel good about where we are on Tuesday, getting ready for a Saturday game.” 

It seems JJ and his staff have been working tirelessly to ensure they have the right game plan before they present it to LeBron James and company. And if this is all true, it’s a great omen for the Lakers and Redick ahead of the Timberwolves games. After all, it’s virtually a guarantee that something or other will go wrong as the series progresses. But the fact that Redick is putting so much thought and effort into all this will pay dividends in the Playoffs.

But what do you think? Is this just Redick having nerves since it’s his first postseason? Or is there something wrong within the Lakers? Let us know!