JJ Redick is putting playing time behind his message to the Los Angeles Lakers: When an open 3-pointer is available, take it.
After Sunday’s 131-125 win over the Toronto Raptors, the Lakers coach said he could recall four second-half possessions when his players turned down open looks from beyond the arc. He warned that continued hesitation could lead to substitutions.
“In the second half, I can think of four times that we turned down wide-open threes,” Redick said. “I’ll take these guys out. You’ve got to shoot when you’re open.”
The comments give the Lakers a specific offensive instruction as they prepare to host the Miami Heat on Monday. Redick wants the openings created by Luka Doncic to become shots, and he is making clear that a player can hurt a possession by declining the chance to finish it.
The standard concerns recognizing the shot, not guaranteeing that every attempt goes in.
That does not establish that a particular player is about to lose his starting job or drop out of the rotation. Redick’s warning set a standard for decisions on the floor.
The available reporting does not identify the players responsible for all four possessions he cited.
JJ Redick wants Lakers to capitalize on Luka Doncic’s passing
Redick made the shooting comments while discussing Doncic’s ability to create opportunities against extra defensive attention.
He praised Doncic’s decisions when two defenders commit to the ball. His frustration concerned what happened after the Lakers gained an advantage: Players were allowing open shooting opportunities to go unused.
“I think he’s doing a really good job of making plays when there’s two on the ball,” Redick said.
The distinction matters for evaluating the offense. Getting the ball away from a double-team can create an opening, but it does not complete the possession.
The next player still has to recognize whether to shoot, drive or move the ball again. An open shooter who pauses gives a recovering defender time to close the space.
That can force another pass or a more difficult attempt after the original opportunity disappears. Redick’s instruction is aimed at protecting the value of the advantage Doncic has already created.
The Lakers had been confronting a related problem before Sunday’s game. As Lakers Daily previously covered, Dan Woike reported after the loss to Golden State that players he spoke with would emphasize trapping and pressure if they were preparing to defend Los Angeles.
That report focused on how opponents might attack the Lakers. Redick’s latest comments identify one part of the response he expects from his own team: Once the ball reaches an open shooter, the possession cannot stall through indecision.
His warning also puts responsibility beyond the player handling the initial pressure. Doncic can make the appropriate pass and still see the offense lose its opening if the recipient is reluctant to act.
Improving against extra attention requires coordinated decisions from the players around him.
Lakers newcomers are still learning Redick’s offense
The shooting warning followed an earlier explanation of why the Lakers have not consistently operated as a connected offensive group.
Before the Toronto game, Redick discussed the learning process for his new players. He had a specific concern that the newcomers had not yet mastered one of the team’s spacing arrangements despite repeated discussions.
“I don’t think they know what our 3-1 spacing is,” Redick said. “We gotta have some patience.”
Taken together, those comments describe the balance facing the coaching staff: teaching a new group where to be while expecting it to execute the decisions it already understands.
Spacing and shooting are connected. A player can occupy the correct area and still fail to make use of it if he declines the shot the offense was designed to produce.
Conversely, identifying an open look requires the players to understand how the possession is supposed to develop around the ball.
Redick also discussed the opportunities available to Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton after the win.
The coach said all three could eventually receive starts, while describing the offensive contribution they can provide when Doncic and Austin Reaves are resting.
Those remarks should not be read as an announced lineup change for Monday. They do show that the coach is still evaluating combinations and roles, making execution relevant to more than a single possession.
Redick also addressed the Lakers’ late-game substitutions
The open-shot warning was separate from another frustrated assessment after the win.
Redick had removed his main players late in the game before Toronto’s rally forced him to put them back in. He said the Lakers did not protect the ball well enough in that stretch and indicated he would keep his established players on the floor if the replacements were not ready.
That was a warning about closing out games and being prepared to contribute whenever called upon. The shooting comments concerned how the offense should function when a good opportunity appears.
Combining the two into a claim that Redick has already decided to bench a named player would go beyond what he said.
For Monday’s meeting with Miami, the practical test is whether Los Angeles can translate those instructions into quicker decisions.
Redick has explained the behavior he expects and the consequence he is prepared to use. The next step is seeing whether the Lakers make those open looks count as attempts before their coach has to reach for a substitute.
