Even the people who were very skeptical about the Los Angeles Lakers hiring JJ Redick to be their head coach last June are starting to become impressed with the job he has done. He has navigated plenty of ups and downs, both on and off the court, as well as at least one reinvention of the team's roster and style of play to guide it to the third seed in the Western Conference.
The Lakers are now legitimately in the discussion to win this season's NBA championship. They will start their quest for basketball's grand prize on Saturday when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series, and it will be the first time they have hosted Game 1 of a best-of-seven since 2012.