JJ Redick gives honest take on why Lakers let Celtics unload 3s

The Boston Celtics secured a momentum-building win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Nov. 5. The victory was Boston’s fourth in a row, having also defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks in the past week.

Against the Lakers, the Celtics got hot from behind the three-point line. Joe Mazzulla’s team knocked down 24 of 45 attempts from deep, for a 53.3% conversion rate.

During his postgame news conference, Lakers head coach JJ Redick explained his team’s approach to perimeter defense and why they were willing to live with Jordan Walsh making shots.

“I mean, look, Jaylen Brown is a low 30% off the dribble 3-point shooter. He hits three threes in a row in the third quarter. Jordan Walsh, we were willing to live with, you know, his threes, we’ve got to give up something, he hits four of them. We ended up getting a contest on three of them. So again, you’ve got to be willing to live with certain things, and they made us pay. You know, we’ve obviously done that many times, and they made us pay tonight.”

Since implementing more small-ball into the rotation, the Celtics have become an increasingly difficult team to break down. They’re highly switchable on defense and have high-level shooters across the floor. Without LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the court, the Lakers didn’t have enough offensive firepower to keep up with Boston’s three-point barrage.

The Celtics have moved up to fifth in the Eastern Conference with their latest win. They’re four games behind the Detroit Pistons, who sit first in the East with an 18-5 record.

Boston will be back in action on Sunday, Nov. 7, when it faces the Toronto Raptors. If the Celtics can secure a fifth straight victory, they will move into third and be within touching distance of the Knicks, who currently sit second.