Lakers coach JJ Redick tries to find balance between analytics and instinct
JJ Redick, the Lakers new head coach, looked down at one set of the numbers to discover that one of his rookies, Bronny James, had done more moving in the team’s first practice than anyone else on the roster.
“I went over to Bronny before practice and I was like, ‘Dude, you ran six miles.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I know.’ So somebody had already shared that with him,” Redick said Wednesday. “I think my experience as a player was very helpful because I got to come in at the tail end of all of this tracking stuff. And it was something, especially as I got older, that was important to me in terms of measuring just my capacity and my load. And if a guy has got a strong buildup, and he’s feeling good, that’s important information for him.”
But it’s not important to everyone, a needle that Redick is going to have to thread with how he uses and disseminates information gleaned through wearable technology, high-definition cameras and sensors near the rims in the practice facility — all measuring different information and logging data.
“I don’t care about numbers,” Anthony Davis said. “Numbers aren’t anything. You could average 50. If you’re in last place, like, what do you get out of the season, ‘Oh, you averaged 50.’ You get nothing for that. I’m about winning, winning championships.
“So, that don’t matter to me.”
It clearly matters to his new head coach — everything does.
In his first day of directing the Lakers, coach JJ Redick had assistants Bob Beyers and Greg St. Jean helping lead the team through drills.
Redick is admittedly prone to getting way into the weeds on things big and small. Earlier this year, LeBron James told Redick he thought a DJ would be a nice touch at practice. Through two days inside the facility, the team has had DJ Meel set up in the corner near their weight room. And Redick has liked the vibe.
“If the players are happy, I’m good,” he said.
He’s not alone, though, when it comes to his passion for information. He said he wanted to make sure that as he formed his first NBA staff, he was surrounded by people who wanted to learn the same.
“More information is better,” Redick said. “That’s how I ... every person we’ve hired, that’s been a key thing that I’ve told them. ‘Do you want to get in the weeds?’ ‘Yeah, I do want to get in the weeds. Yeah.’ So as much info as possible.”
But Redick, like any player who has seen analytics enter the NBA sphere, knows that there’s a balance that needs to be struck, that informational overload can be just as crippling as physical overload. And there’s an art to sharing things that matter to you with players who might not care as much.
With son Bronny at his side for media day, LeBron James says he feels “really good” physically and mentally and is “looking forward to getting to work tomorrow.”
“I think that’s a good thing about him being an ex-player. Obviously, the numbers don’t lie. And there’s a lot of truth in the numbers. But there’s also flow and feel in the game,” guard Austin Reaves said. “And for him to be an ex-player, I know he knows the ups and downs in games and the situations to go away from the numbers. But like you said, he’s a big analytics-numbers guy and I’m very excited for myself to dive more into that and see ways I can be better as well.
“… In the past, I’ve flushed all that. Yesterday was the first time I actually looked at how much I ran in practice. It was like five miles. I tend to play more off of feel and going with the flow. But I also think there are situations where there are numbers that give you a leg up or a little boost to really see what works and doesn’t work.”
Notes
Davis shared a fun back-and-forth story from live action on Wednesday between LeBron James and Bronny. “It’s fantastic to be able to be here and witness it in practice,” Davis said. “And Bronny hit a three over him today. Everybody was talking smack in Bronny’s favor. Then Bron came down and just bullied somebody. Just took it out on [him] — I forgot who it was — and got a layup. Bronny came down and hit another three, I think over Austin. And Bron wanted the ball. So you could see, even though they weren’t matched up, the competition is there. And that’s what we love to see.” … Cam Reddish remained a limited participant with ankle soreness, but his injury has improved since Tuesday. … The Lakers have a plan on how they’ll use their veterans in the preseason, though they’re not sharing it as of yet. … The team has an early practice scheduled for Thursday before busing to Palm Springs where they’ll play their first two preseason games.
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