Former NBA star Kevin Garnett has jumped to the defence of LA Lakers coach JJ Redick following some scathing remarks from Charles Barkley.
The role as Lakers coach was never going to be easy and while the team has improved on the court in recent weeks Redick has still come under pressure from the media.
Numerous former NBA stars have attacked the Lakers and Redick recently voiced frustration with the media surrounding the league. He complained that rather than promoting and pushing the greatness of the league they tear down the product.
Barkley a regular on TNT’s ‘Inside the NBA’ responded saying: “I heard JJ Redick said something about me, you better calm down because when you come for the king, you better not miss. He said something abut we’re the reason people ain’t watching this cr*ppy product we got.”
Garnett has jumped to the defence of Redick in this battle saying ‘he has a good point.’
Garnett defends JJ Redick in Barkley battle
Redick has bigger issues to deal with than arguing with former NBA stars. The Lakers coach is looking to get the team back to a competitive level, something he said they were lacking in their Mavericks defeat.
After Redick’s comments about the media, Barkley continued his onslaught against the Lakers coach saying: “The Lakers stink. He came in there thinking, ‘I can make this thing work.’ Hell you can! Better put some makeup on that pig. The Lakers stink, man.”
Redick has now distanced himself from the war of words but Garnett would not let Barkley have the last say.
Garnett wanted to point out the magical moments that are happening in the NBA which are being overlooked. He used LeBron’s dunk against the Mavericks as an example.
Speaking on KG Certified, Garnett said: “That ___ looked like some 22-year-old ____. That’s the new Iens I’m talking about, we can do a better job of celebrating through that lens. I heard JJ Redick and he got a good point.”
He also highlighted how the league was producing plays that we simply haven’t seen before, saying: “None of us is admitting it, none of us have seen this ___.”
Redick has been great at building Lakers up
While many former Lakers players have been all to willing to tear the team apart Redick has looked to find the positives in his side wherever possible.
The Lakers currently sit sixth in the Western Conference with a 20-16 record, and whilst their form has been a little inconsistent Redick has still shown support, especially to his young stars.
The side recently secured the services of Dorian Finney-Smith, somebody who back in 2022 Redick praised on his social media.
Redick has also been full of admiration for Max Christie who has been a regular in his side this season, the youngster is averaging 10 more minutes of court time than he has before.
It’s clear to see that Redick practices what he preaches and the support of Garnett will further justify the Lakers coach’s comments.
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