JJ Redick praises Lakers for 'level of competition' in preseason opener

The Lakers lost to the Timberwolves on Friday to open the preseason.

With their big two, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, unfit, the process was far more important than the result.

Lakers coach JJ Redick spoke after the game about the team's ability to execute on its goals. He praised his team for their intensity, but pointed out that he needed more organization going forward.

“I told our guys three things before the game that I'm going to judge you on and how we're going to measure this game,” Redick said. “Our organization, our conversation and our level of competition, and I thought the third thing, we had that at a really high level. We have to do better with the other two.”

As rookies like Dalton Knecht and Bronny James achieve significant success, it's encouraging to hear that they were told what the standard of performance would be and that they met those standards.

The weak points of organization and communication are not ideal, but that is to be expected early on. After all, this is Redick's first year as coach and developing new plays and establishing them with his younger players won't be easy, nor will it happen quickly.

Without delving into what Redick means by communication, it sounds like they didn't give each other enough verbal help to avoid mishaps on both sides of the floor.

This was evident in how careless the Lakers were with the ball on the offensive side, where they recorded 21 turnovers. Defensively, they struggled to keep the Timberwolves off the field and lost the rebound duel 41-38.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James are expected to play against the Suns on Sunday, which should raise the level of competition even further and allow them to show the younger players how to communicate better and perform better.

The results in these preseason games may not matter, but the attention to detail does.

With concentration already where it needs to be and an intense training camp underway, it looks like Redick could maximize this team's potential once the games count.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.