James publicly stated that being eliminated by the Timberwolves was not Redick s responsibility, it was because we failed to survive

The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs of the 2024-25 season and missed the championship in the 2024-25 season. LeBron James is very dissatisfied with the team's elimination because he wants to win the fifth championship, but there are not many NBA seasons left for him. The 2025-26 season is likely to be the last season of his personal career.

Faced with the Lakers being eliminated in the first round, many fans and media believe that such a situation must be taken the blame, and head coach Redick must be the primary person to take the blame. Recently, LeBron James talked about the first round elimination and head coach Redick on his own podcast show.

LeBron James said, "No one asked JJ and the coaching staff what happened. Obviously, Gabe and Vando gave us so much wonderful playing time, and they definitely had a way because they were competitors."

"We all felt that we could enter and create a moment. JJ told us that this was not a decision based on the inability to do the job, it was a decision based on the feeling and motivation of the game. No one of us looked at him or the coaching staff in any way. Huh, it was our fault that we failed to survive."

LeBron James had no way, after all, when Ham was dismissed, Redick was supported by him, and he had to bear the coach he chose, and he had to bear the loss. To be honest, Redick's tactical style is not as good as Ham. At least Ham knows that defense is the first element of winning. When Ham led the team in the Western Conference, the Lakers' defense was not bad. In the first season, he led the team to the Western Conference Finals, and in the second season, he was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

Ham led the team twice and was eliminated by the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs, mainly because the Lakers' back line did not have the defender who could compete with Jamal Murray at critical moments. The Lakers lost to the Nuggets in two series, and there was more to the final quarter, with no better scorer to support LeBron James. Anthony Davis and LeBron James were over-consuming on both offense and defense, and they needed some help. Hachimura, Dangilo Russell and Reeves failed to play as an All-Star star to relieve the pressure on both of them. You know, when Ham leads the team to lose to the Nuggets, the team is more likely to be defeated by the reverse.

Ham is very smart, that is, he handed over the ball rights and tactical boards to LeBron James, because he is the team leader, and his ability to observe the game is incomparable to many current coaches. LeBron James knows what each teammate should do to win the ball to the maximum extent.

In the fourth game, Vincent, Jared Vanderbilt and Hayes were completely abandoned by Redick. In the end, he insisted on using LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Reeves, Hachimura Jue and Dorian Finney Smith to play the second half. This has proved Redick's ability, more about paper talk, and his real command ability is not outstanding.