JJ Redick claims Lakers were not in championship shape

I’ll start with the offseason and the work that’s required in an offseason to be in championship shape and we have a ways to go as a roster. There are individuals that were in phenomenal shape, there’s certainly other ones that could have been in better shape. We have to get in championship shape.

JJ Redick said

This response is after the 40-year-old stormed out of the pre-game press conference ahead of Game 5. When adding these two responses, it seems he is fixated on the idea that his team was not conditioned enough to battle in the playoffs. The reporters present found this intriguing.

JJ Redick on his plans for offseason conditioning

Reporters at the Los Angeles Lakers’ exit interviews wanted to understand what JJ Redick meant by getting into championship shape. Since he did not specifically name any players, reporters wanted to know how he was planning on fixing the conditioning problem he is talking about.

We obviously recognize it’s a long season and some guys have routines and it’s not that we’re looking to completely break routines but we do want to have a program in place for each guy so that when they come back in August, September we can build off of that and start training camp in a really good spot conditioning-wise.

JJ Redick said

Redick’s words suggest he is looking to overhaul how his players schedule their offseason. It sounds as if he wants to ensure that the Lakers head into next season with the view of controlling their energy right up until the end of the playoffs.

He still believes the lack of conditioning is what cost them the playoffs. It may be a thinly veiled attack on some of the players who he believes were not in prime shape. The most notable among those will be his starters, especially LeBron James and Luka Doncic.

Managing LeBron James and Luka Doncic’s health will be key

In Games 4 and 5, it was evident that the Los Angeles Lakers did not have the endurance to face the Minnesota Timberwolves. They were faster, bigger, and more athletic, whereas the Lakers were slower. That difference cannot help them compete with the younger teams making waves at the top of the league.

LeBron James is 40 years old, and Luka Doncic struggles with health issues down the stretch. It could be that JJ Redick wants to find solutions to mitigate those problems. Usually, the best way to handle James would be to limit his minutes and focus on helping other players develop.

But Doncic is a different problem. He plays slower, which helps against some teams. But in the playoffs, when the intensity is at an all-time high, he struggles. If Redick can help him return to the times when he would up his athleticism, the Lakers could become an entirely different team.