Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has received a lot of heat lately in the wake of the severe injuries to superstars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, which threaten to end their incredible season early in the playoffs.
In particular, many have pointed out the heavy load Luka and Austin have had to carry all season, which they feel played a significant role in the hamstring and oblique injuries they recently suffered. However, popular sports broadcaster Colin Cowherd argued that blaming JJ for that is unfair, especially since he didn’t build this top-heavy roster.
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It was only a matter of time
Cowherd believes what happened to the Lakers’ studs was inevitable, given the lopsided roster construction. As talented as the team’s starting five is, boasting of supreme firepower that allows them to go toe-to-toe with any of the NBA’s elite, they do not have enough “3-and-D” guys in a league wherein the best squads have a ton of them.
“This was the inevitable conclusion,” Colin stressed.
“JJ Redick inherited a completely lopsided roster. He should be up for Coach of the Year. They have no bench. They can’t shoot threes. They can’t rebound. They’ve got no rim protector. They lack ‘3-and-D’ guys in a ‘3-and-D’ league,” the veteran pundit added.
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For context, Luka played 35.8 minutes a game, which actually isn’t outrageous for a player of his caliber. However, his usage rate of 38.6—which is a career-high—essentially means that possessions that he didn’t have a hand in were rare.
But then again, none of this was surprising to Cowherd.
“Luka got stretched like a rubber band that had been stretched for weeks to the limit,” he said. “But again, you’ve got no bench… You have no bench and no three-point shooters, and you’re a poor rebounding team.”
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The wrong approach
Cowherd contended that many fans fail to grasp the real issue the Lakers must address: a glaring lack of depth. Redick has taken the hand that was dealt to him and made the best of the situation, steering the Purple & Gold to the third seed in the stacked Western Conference. Most importantly, he could not afford to sit out Luka for long, as doing so would put his team behind the eight ball.
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“That’s where he’s at. So, you’ve got to play Austin Reaves. You play LeBron as much as you can. You have to play Luka because they step off the floor and you run out of points. They have the second-worst bench in the league!” Colin stated.
“So, it’s almost like the Lakers are a sports car, and their answer for everything is more power. Handling—don’t worry about it. Aerodynamics—somebody else’s problem. Braking, tires—eh, somebody else can worry about it. Let’s give us more horsepower,” he emphasized. “And that’s been Rob Pelinka’s answer to everything.”
A quick look at the Lakers’ offseason moves saw them sign DeAndre Ayton, Jaxson Hayes, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia to new contracts. They also traded for Luke Kennard at the trade deadline. And while all these players have been solid, they haven’t been as impactful to the Lakers’ cause.
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“In the NBA, the best general managers like Sam Presti in Oklahoma City, they build rosters with complementary pieces that can win when their star rests and can win multiple ways,” Colin remarked. “That’s not what JJ Redick inherited. He didn’t build the roster.”
All this, though, is crying over spilled milk. With Luka and Austin’s playoff status yet to be determined, the Lakers face an uphill battle in their last four games as they try to hold on to the third seed in the West.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Apr 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.