Michael Malone praises how JJ Redick has coached the Lakers

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Over the last couple of years, the Denver Nuggets have been the Los Angeles Lakers' own personal slab of Kryptonite. Almost every time the Lakers have played Denver since January 2023, they have ended the game with their heads hanging in defeat. This ineptitude has included two playoff defeats in the last two years to Nikola Jokić and crew.

But this season, they tied their season series with Denver at two wins apiece, but they will likely earn the tiebreaker over Denver. Their roster has changed significantly, and so has the overall character and soul of their team.

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone has taken several shots at L.A. over the last two years. But just days ago, he actually complimented the team, as well as the job JJ Redick has done with it.

Via Lakers Nation:

“Different players, different coaches. There’s a lot of change within the Lakers… They’re a different team. JJ is coaching them and his fingerprints are all over this team,” Malone said before the recent matchup between L.A. and Denver. “They’ve added another MVP candidate in Luka [Doncic] and the most amazing thing I think about that trade is just how the Lakers defense has gone almost to the top of the charts. They play small, they play athletic, they play a lot of versatile guys and they’re just really disruptive on that end of the floor. You have to be able to counter that.”

That defense Malone spoke of was on full display when the Lakers visited his team last month. They hounded Jokic and held him to 12 points on 2-of-7 shooting, and overall, they forced 20 turnovers, which led to them scoring 33 fast-break points in a 123-100 victory.

With a few exceptions, their defense has been one of the NBA's best over the last two months, and combined with a potential-laden offense, it has given them a very bright immediate future.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Michael Malone praises how JJ Redick has coached the Lakers

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