The Los Angeles Lakers overcame a 22-point deficit to secure a thrilling 123-116 comeback victory in their second game of the 2024-25 NBA season, defeating Kevin Durant‘s Phoenix Suns. After the game, leading scorer Anthony Davis broke down how head coach JJ Redick guided the team to the Friday night win.
Midway through the game, the Suns were dominating the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena, holding a 48-26 lead. The first half ended with the visitors up 61-52, leaving the Lakers with work to do. According to Davis, Redick‘s calm demeanor during halftime was pivotal for the team’s turnaround.
“J coming into the huddle, halftime, just telling us, ‘We’re alright. Settle down. We know what we’re doing wrong. Turnovers. Transition. We’re getting good looks, just chip away; we’re not going to get all that back at once,'” Davis said. ““So, him not panicking, obviously, made us not panic, and we were able to walk them down and eventually take the lead,” he added.
Several Lakers struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, including LeBron James, who managed just 4 points on 33.3% shooting in 16 minutes. However, the second half was a different story: LeBron returned to form, adding 17 points to help secure the Lakers’ second straight win of the season.
Davis backs Redick’s coaching approach
While this is Redick’s first season as an NBA head coach, his leadership has quickly earned the trust of his players. Young talents like Bronny James and Quincy Olivari have praised Redick’s guidance and his emphasis on keeping the roster engaged and competitive. Davis, one of the team’s top players, echoed these sentiments.
“We trust him—what he’s doing, what he plans to do on both ends of the floor, him and his staff—and it’s paying off,” Davis said after the win over the Suns. Redick’s focus on Davis has been evident from the start, aiming to make the big man a central figure in the team’s offense.
As The Athletic‘s Jovan Buha posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, “JJ Redick says it’s the intention of both the players and the coaching staff to have Anthony Davis touch the ball as much as possible.”
Lakers’ promising start under JJ Redick
Before the regular season began, Austin Reaves emphasized the importance of avoiding the mistakes of past years and securing wins early in the season. So far, Redick has surpassed expectations, guiding the Lakers to a 2-0 start—a milestone that has fans in LA buzzing:
The last time the Lakers began a season 2-0 was in 2010, a campaign that ended with a championship. Additionally, as StatMamba reports, every season in which LeBron has started 2-0, he has reached the NBA Finals.