2-10! Darvin Ham started his tenure as the Lakers head coach terribly. And the end of his run was pretty similar as he got fired after getting knocked out in the first round. However, JJ Redick has already shown that he is not Ham by bagging ten wins in his first fifteen games as head coach. Well, he is doing something right and everyone is noticing. But not Michael Malone. Despite beating Ham’s Lakers eight times in the playoffs, Malone failed to chime in on the Redick-Ham comparison, blaming it on his hectic schedule.

Addressing the difference in Redick and Ham’s coaching style, Malone said, “To compare JJ versus Darvin, this year to last year, I would be remiss to kind of speak on that because I was watching Dallas film and then I was watching our game after on the plane last night and then you turn the page quickly and get ready for tonight.” Yes, the Nuggets head coach did not get much time to analyze the film on Redick because his team had a game against the Mavs last night.

Moreover, the Nuggets suffered a heartbreaking loss after getting outscored by 20 points in the first half. So, Malone was more focused on what went wrong and how they could avoid those mistakes in the future. Well, he will get firsthand experience of JJ’s coaching tonight as the Nuggets face the Lakers in the back-to-back encounter. Although he failed to point out the differences, Malone did address what’s working well for the Lakers, “Obviously, we know that they still excel in transition, that’s why they’re great. They dominate in the paint, they live at the foul line.”

With LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the charge, the Lakers are a solid interior team. AD has been in dominant form playing under JJ, as he is averaging 31.3 points and over eleven rebounds. And he has been a menace inside the paint. Meanwhile, LBJ is driving the offense like he always does, but this time he has an elite rookie like Dalton Knecht to finish the deep-range shots that they were missing last season. “JJ has got a really good group of guys to work with and when you have a guy like LeBron that you can play through every night, who has one of the best IQs that I’ve ever been around, that’s such an advantage for a young coach like JJ,” Malone added.

Michael Malone has high praise for JJ Redick amid Lakers’ success: “Hell of a job”

Although the Lakers have a solid roster, they still need a magnificent coach to guide them through tough situations. Moreover, their roster has not changed much since last year, with the only notable addition being Knecht. But the energy that JJ has brought to their camp with his passion for the game and the zeal to win has changed their look entirely.

Sure enough, Malone acknowledged how Redick has excelled under immense pressure despite having no prior coaching experience, “This is not a copout because I think JJ in his first year as a head coach is doing a hell of a job. Most first-year head coaches take over teams that are not built to win now.” Yes, the head coaching job for the Lakers might be one of the most challenging tasks in the league because there are a lot of expectations that come with it. But JJ has lived up to them so far. Hopefully, he will continue to do so as the season progresses. As far as the comparison with Darvin Ham goes, Malone promised that he would have a better answer next time.