Lakers' JJ Redick Storms Out of Presser on Video After Question About Substitutions

The Los Angeles Lakers' season will be on the line in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, and head coach JJ Redick was in no mood to talk about his substitution patterns during a pregame press conference.

Redick appeared to take offense to a question that basically asked him if he will lean on his assistant coaches when it comes to helping with substitutions and then promptly exited the press conference:

"Are you saying that because I'm inexperienced and that was an inexperienced decision that I made?" the first-year head coach asked when discussing the lack of substitutions in Game 4.

"You think I don't talk to my assistants about substitutions every single time out? … That's a weird assumption."

It isn't surprising the topic came up, as ESPN's Dave McMenamin noted Redick became the first head coach to not make a single substitution in the second half of a playoff game since such data was tracked starting in 1998.

LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith played the entire second half, which was all the more notable when the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers 32-19 in the fourth quarter to escape with a three-point win.

Los Angeles was an ugly 5-of-18 shooting from the field in that fourth quarter, and James and Dončić each missed critical shots near the rim down the stretch.

Minnesota looked like the fresher team in the fourth quarter and might have the advantage once again if lingering fatigue proves to be an issue for the 40-year-old James and Dončić after they each played 46 minutes in the latest loss.

While Redick was upset with the line of questioning, it wouldn't be a surprise if he adjusted his strategy for Wednesday's Game 5.