JJ Redick acknowledged the delicate balance he has to maintain as LeBron James’ head coach on the Los Angeles Lakers.
Redick spoke candidly on Tuesday about his approach to handling an aging superstar like James after the Lakers’ gritty 111-103 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, La. The second-year coach likened it to the last days of a Hall of Fame pitcher.
“He’s Greg Maddux at the end of his career. Every night, he doesn’t have his best stuff, but he has enough to win. I’m his catcher. I’ve figured out how to call the pitches. Sometimes he tells me F off and he calls his own pitch, which is fine too.”
Fittingly enough, Maddux closed his career out with the Los Angeles Dodgers at the age of 42. While his 5.09 ERA across seven starts was nowhere close to his career mark of 3.16, Maddux still found a way to win a couple of games in his 23rd MLB season.
Redick must’ve called a good game from behind the plate against the Pelicans. James, who is also in his 23rd season, proved Tuesday that he still has his fastball when his team needs it. He finished with a team-best 30 points on 10/19 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Not bad for a guy who got serenaded by fans for his 41st birthday last week.
