LA Lakers head coach JJ Redick decided to pivot quickly during Game 4, amid his team’s lack of size.
The decision to rescind the Mark Williams trade is short-term harming the LA Lakers, due to the team’s lack of a starting center.
Jaxson Hayes has been playing at the position – but during the NBA Playoff series with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he has been completely outmatched.
After Game 3, JJ Redick admitted he would examine the Lakers’ options, but also explained that they simply had no other realistic alternatives.
During Game 4 against the Timberwolves, JJ Redick answered the question with his actions – with questionable results as they team fell to a 3-1 series deficit.
JJ Redick did name Jaxson Hayes as a starter. It did not last long. Hayes committed two fouls in four minutes, and was removed from the rotation.
Hayes remained on the bench, with his final stat line reading at 2-1-1 for the night.
This was a damning indictment of Jaxson Hayes’ role in this series going forward, with JJ Redick losing patience almost immediately.
Dorian Finney-Smith played the most minutes as Jaxson Hayes’ replacement. This included coming out as the starter at the beginning of the second half, and this was the moment where the Lakers seized the initiative.
The Lakers began the third quarter with a 11-0 run, having trailed 61-58 at the half-time break.
At the end of the third, the Lakers were up 94-84. turning the game around with Hayes not playing a single minute during that span.
JJ Redick did not make a single change during the third, keeping his five-man rotation for the entire third quarter.
And that is when the desperation really kicked in. The Lakers kept the same five through the fourth quarter too.
Minnesota turned the game around in the fourth, winning the contest 116-113.
- LeBron James: 46
- Luka Doncic: 46
- Rui Hachimura: 41
- Dorian Finney-Smith: 41
- Austin Reaves: 31
- Gabe Vincent: 13
- Jared Vanderbilt: 7
- Jordan Goodwin: 7
- Jaxson Hayes: 4
Even if this had edged in the Lakers favor, this was not a sustainable way to win a basketball game, and the roster is clearly not equipped to win a championship.
Now 3-1 down, the Lakers will have to pull off an improbable turnaround to progress in the Western Conference semi-finals.
