In the postseason, head coaches tend to shorten their rotations. Every possesion is valube in the playoffs and a coach will not play somone he cannot trust.
This proved true in the second half of Lakers vs. Timberwolves Game 4. Head coach JJ Redick made zero substitutons in the second half. All five players did not come off the court. It’s the first time in NBA hisotry that any team team used the same five players for an entire half. After Los Angeles blew a chance to win Game 4, JJ Redick recoved a ton of critiscm.
Why did JJ Redick make zero subsitutions in the second half of Game 4?
“It’s not 2K. You cannot play 5 [players] for 24 minutes straight!”
– @LegendOfWinning blames JJ Redick for Lakers loss frente a the Timberwolves 👀 pic.twitter.com/qSv037KzEe
— Playback (@WatchPlayback) April 27, 2025
Los Angeles had a 10-point lead to start the fourth quarter of Game 4 on Sunday afertnoon. They controlled a good portion of the second half but lost 116-114 to the Timberwolves. Now, the Lakers are down 3-1 in their first-round series vs. Minnesota. In the second half of Game 4, Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick made NBA hisotry. It was the first time that any team used the same five players for the entire half of a playoff game.
Luka Doncic, LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, and Dorian Finney-Smith played all 24 minutes of the second half in Game 4. Fans of the team criticized JJ Redick for not making any substitutuions. They beleive the Lakers’ players were gassed by the end of the fourth quarter. Jaxson Hayes started the game at center for the Lakers but he played just four minutes.
Dorian Finney-Smith came off the bench and played 41 minutes for the Lakers. Los Angeles was outscored 31-19 in the fourth quarter and Los Angeles was gassed. The team is down 3-1 to the Timberwolves. They’ll need to win the final three games to advance to the confernce semi-finals. Was making no subsititions in the second half the reason the Lakers will lose this series? They could have been tied 2-2 heading back to Los Angeles on Wednesday.