Former NBA guard Jeff Teague had some major praise for Los Angeles Lakers head coach J.J. Redick for his defensive scheme that he used against Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the playoffs.
Even though the Lakers were swept in the Western Conference semifinals by the Thunder, it appears that the San Antonio Spurs took a few things from Redick’s scheme and applied them in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday night.
San Antonio went on to upset OKC in double overtime in Game 1, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished with just 24 points on 7-of-23 shooting from the field.
“He a phenomenal coach,” Teague said of Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson. “He probably gonna be Coach of the Year going forward. He gonna win a bunch of those. But nah, he a phenomenal coach.
“And then, obviously, the Lakers – shout-out to J.J. Redick. J.J.’s a good coach. People are taking his blueprint on how to stop SGA and applying it. Great coaches learn from other coaches. But shout-out to J.J. Redick. He changed the whole way of guarding OKC.
“This might hurt OKC going forward and they whole trajectory of being a dynasty. They won a championship, but that way of guarding him might have messed up everything.”
Gilgeous-Alexander scored under 25 points in the first three games of the conference semifinals against the Lakers before he broke out for 35 points in Game 4 to complete the sweep. While the Lakers were undermanned in that series, they did find a way to slow down the two-time MVP, as he averaged fewer points than his season average.
Now, the Spurs seem to have applied a similar strategy, sending double teams at the star guard while walling off many of his drives to the paint. San Antonio also has the benefit of rising phenom Victor Wembanyama protecting the rim, something the Lakers and Redick didn’t have at their disposal.
It’s nice to see Teague give Redick credit for a strong game plan, and the Lakers’ head coach deserves some love for helping the team reach the second round of the playoffs in the 2025-26 season.
Los Angeles has made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since Redick took over, and this offseason will be crucial for the Lakers as they try to build a true title contender for him around franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic.
