JJ Redick highlights Lakers' thin margin for error

The Los Angeles Lakers continue to clumsily move through the regular season. The current roster is a mishmash of talent, with very little crossover into how head coach JJ Redick would like his team to play. Furthermore, LeBron James has begun to show signs of his age despite still putting up incredible averages.

One serious area of concern for the Lakers has been their inconsistent offense. On some nights, they look like a team capable of contending for a championship, while on others, they appear to be on a fast track to a full-scale rebuild.

Speaking to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Redick detailed the fine margins the Lakers are facing and how slight tweaks could turn their season around.

“I would probably point immediately to our shot profile,” Redick said. “Over the last 13 [games], we're taking five more non-paint twos — we're shooting 39% on those. And for all the people that hate math, I shared this with the team this morning and I think it's really interesting. We're last, or second to last, in the last 13 in our offense. Those five extra non-paint twos, if we shot them at the same rate as Phoenix — who shoots 49% on non-paint twos — our offense would go from 29th to 12th.”

The problem is that it's easy to point to the slender margins on a stat sheet but far harder to make the necessary adjustments on the court. We've all seen the Lakers make bad decisions on offense this season, from poor shot selection to trying to play hero ball. Yes, making some of those shots would change how we speak about the Lakers' current struggles, but it would just be papering over the cracks.

Redick needs a younger team that he can mold. He has a modern outlook on how the game should be played, but outside of James and Anthony Davis, he lacks the talent to translate his ideas onto the floor. He would be better served with young high-upside players who can develop within his system. Dalton Knecht and Austin Reaves already fit that bill.

Redick was always seen as a long-term hire. The Lakers want to build a system and style of play and begin developing their own talent. If that's the future Jeanie Buss envisions, it makes no sense to hang Redick out to dry with a team that doesn't fit together. 

Yes, the Lakers are within striking distance of figuring things out. However, any uptick in performance is unlikely to be sustainable long-term. Sooner or later, the front office must give Redick the chance to build his own team. Only then can we see what his system is truly capable of.