JJ RedickTHE Lakers new head coach, crunched a bunch of numbers to discover that one of his rookies, Bronny James, made more moves in the team’s first practice than anyone else on the roster.
“I went up to Bronny before practice and told him, ‘Dude, you ran six miles.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I know.’ So someone had already shared that with him,” Redick said Wednesday. “I think my experience as a player was very helpful because I was able to step in at the end of all that follow-up work. And that was something, especially as I got older, that was important to me in terms of just measuring my capacity and my load. And if a guy has a strong buildup and he feels good, that’s important information for him.
But that’s not important to everyone, a needle Redick will have to thread with how he uses and disseminates information gleaned from wearable technology, high-definition cameras and sensors near the practice facility’s rims – all measuring different information and recording. data.
“I don’t care about the numbers,” Anthony Davis said. “Numbers are nothing. You might have an average of 50. If you’re in last place, for example, what do you take away from the season, “Oh, you have an average of 50.” You don’t get anything for that. I want to win, win championships.
“So I don’t care.”
This clearly matters to his new head coach – everything matters.
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Redick is admittedly prone to getting his way into the weeds on things big and small. Earlier this year, LeBron James told Redick that he thought a live DJ would be a good idea at practice. During two days inside the establishment, the team had DJ Meel installed in a corner near their weight room. And Reddick liked the atmosphere.
“If the players are happy, I’m good,” he said.
But he is not the only one to express his passion for information. He said he wanted to make sure that as he trained his first NBA staff, he would be surrounded by people who wanted to learn the same thing.
“More information is better,” Redick said. “That’s how I…every person we’ve hired, that’s a key thing I’ve told them. “Do you want to get into the weeds?” “Yeah, I want to get into the weeds.” Yeah.’ So as much information as possible.
But Redick, like any player who has seen analytics enter the NBA sphere, knows that there is a balance to be struck, that information overload can be just as paralyzing as physical overload. And there’s an art to sharing things that matter to you with players who might not care as much.
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“I think it’s a good thing he’s a former player. Obviously, the numbers don’t lie. And there is a lot of truth in the numbers. But there’s also fluidity and feel to the game,” goalie Austin Reaves said. “And for him to be a former player, I know he knows the ups and downs of games and the situations to get away from the numbers. But like you said, he’s big on analytical numbers and I’m very excited to delve into it more and see how I can improve as well.
“…In the past, I dumped all of that. Yesterday was the first time I looked at how much I ran in training. It was about five miles. I tend to play more on sensations and go with the flow. But I also think there are situations where certain numbers give you a nudge or a little nudge to really see what’s working and what’s not working.
Remarks
Davis shared a fun live-action back-and-forth story between LeBron James and Bronny on Wednesday. “It’s awesome to be able to be here and witness it in practice,” Davis said. “And Bronny hit a three against him today. Everyone was speaking in favor of Bronny. Then Bron came and just bullied someone. I just went after (him) – I forgot who it was – and I got a layup. Bronny came down and hit three more, I think Austin. And Bron wanted the ball. We were therefore able to see that even if they were not up to par, the competition is there. And that’s what we like to see. … Cam Reddish remained a limited participant with ankle soreness, but his injury has improved since Tuesday. … The Lakers have a plan for how they will use their veterans in the preseason, although they are not sharing it yet. … The team has a morning practice scheduled for Thursday before taking the bus to Palm Springs where it will play its first two preseason games.
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
