Lakers vs Wolves Preseason preview and Game Thread: The beginning of the JJ Redick era

JJ Redick will officially coach his first unofficial Lakers game on Friday against the Wolves in the team’s preseason opener.

The Lakers will begin the preseason in Palm Springs on Friday where they will face the Minnesota Timberwolves. This will be the first of six exhibition games that will take place through the first half of October.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves

When: 7:30 p.m. PT, Oct 4

Where: Acrisure Arena, Palm Desert, CA

Watch: NBA TV, Spectrum SportsNet

The Lakers are back at it on the hardwood and this time, it will be JJ Redick’s first game as a coach. Although these preseason games don’t really count, I’ve always believed that they’re as important because we get a first glimpse of what this Lakers team looks like, at least at the moment.

Based on what we learned in media day and training camp thus far, the team has been raving about Redick’s attention to detail and structural approach. On top of this, it’s also nice to know that the energy and vibes around the team have been good, at least according to Anthony Davis. Now it’s time to see these words put into action.

Friday’s game will be the perfect opportunity to see the progress of what the Lakers are building whether that’s their system, philosophies, values, team chemistry, etc. It’s a fresh new start, especially for this team that has a whole lot of figuring out to do.

That said, here are two storylines worth following ahead of tomorrow’s tipoff:

How serious will the Lakers approach preseason?

Preseason is one way teams set the tone of their season. We all know what happened to the ‘21-’22 Lakers that were winless to in their preseason stint. Or even the ‘22-’23 team that only won a single game out of six, which preceded a 2-12 start to the regular season. One can make the argument that maybe Darvin Ham didn’t treat the preseason as seriously as possible but it’s not like that’s an anomaly.

Personally, I’d just like to see the Lakers approach the preseason as serious as possible. It’s an ideal way to build momentum and rhythm, especially since Los Angeles has a tough schedule to start the year.

It’ll be interesting to see how Redick manages the preseason. How often will LeBron James and Davis play? Will they compete to win or just to make an appearance? We’ll find out in the next two weeks.

Who’s going to stand out?

One of the best parts about the preseason is witnessing who stands out. Will it be someone like Max Christie, who has gotten a lot of compliments about how he’s approached the season from both his coach and his superstar teammate LeBron? Or a rookie? Perhaps someone on an Exhibit 10 contract?

The preseason could be used as an opportunity for players to show why they deserve minutes or even a contract and how well they fit in the new coach’s system in live action. Let’s see which Laker stands out against the Wolves on Friday.

Notes and Updates

• Jarred Vanderbilt (foot surgery) and Christian Wood (knee surgery) haven’t been active participants in practice so expect these two to be out on Friday.
• Same with Cam Reddish, who hasn’t been participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages so far in training camp. Although the forward has been doing non-live action work with the team.
• Christian Koloko has yet to cleared to play by the NBA so safe to assume he won’t be able to suit up on Friday as well.
• We will be live on Playback for this game, so be sure to join us!

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.