JJ Redick already sounds like a coach managing expectations vs. OKC

Oklahoma City posted a +13.1 net rating with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor this season, comfortably clearing the +10 threshold Redick referenced. The Lakers come in at +1.5. The Thunder finished as the league's best team at +11.1. That's a gap, not a margin.

Redick didn't stop with the historical line either, going further when pressed.

"I said to a bunch of people yesterday off-site who were talking about this series to me. I said, yeah, the Thunder is one of the greatest teams ever in NBA history. That's just the reality. They're that good," he said.

We would agree that there is a reading in which this is just smart coaching. Lift the underdog status from the locker room, and dare your guys to play with house money.

He has been blunt by nature since he took the job, and there's no benefit to walking in pretending OKC is beatable on talent alone, maybe.

Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Oklahoma City. The Lakers will need a near-perfect game just to make it interesting.

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