2014-15 Player Capsules: J.J. Redick

Rowan Kavner

In this series, Clippers.com takes a look back at the 2014-15 season for each member of the Clippers’ roster and looks forward to the offseason and what may be in store going forward. The next installment in our series of player capsules is on shooting guard J.J. Redick.

Key Numbers:

Redick’s points per game in a career year for the sharpshooter, setting a career-high. Redick continues to progress as each season passes. The 16.4 points per game broke his previous high which came a season prior, when he scored 15.2 points per game. Redick’s 1,277 total points during the 2014-15 season were 177 more than he had in any previous year. He also made 65 more field goals than he had in any previous season and recorded a career-high 24 games with at least 24 points.

Redick’s free-throw percentage during the 2014-15 season, joining teammates Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford as the three Clippers players to finish the season shooting at least 90 percent from the line. The Clippers became the first team in NBA history with at least three qualifying players who shot at least 90 percent from the free-throw line. It marked the fifth season in Redick’s career in which he shot at least 90 percent from the charity stripe.

Redick became the first Clippers player ever to hit 200 3-pointers in a season, ranking fifth in the league in made 3-pointers and 3-point percentage. Redick’s 43.7 percent mark from deep was also a career-high for the Clippers’ starting shooting guard. It marked the third consecutive season that the Clippers broke both the team and individual franchise records for 3-pointers in a single season.

He’s nine seasons into the league, but Redick appears to just be hitting his prime. Redick’s points per game have gone up every year since the 2007-08 season. Keeping Redick healthy was essential for a Clippers team that relied on his ability to create off the ball. He took care of his body and only missed four games, setting career highs in field goal percentage, 3-pointer percentage, points, 3-pointers made, field goals and steals.

When the playoffs began, the Spurs respected him enough to stick their best defender on him for large portions of games. When Clippers ran plays, most often it was to get Redick open and in a position to receive a pass and connect from deep. While he thrived off the ball, he was still capable of creating with the ball.

Teams struggled to figure out how to guard Paul and Blake Griffin while still limiting lobs to DeAndre Jordan and chasing Redick around the perimeter. To get going in games, the Clippers liked to find Redick, who ranked first in the NBA with 2.7 points in the first three minutes of games. Since Redick joined the Clippers, they’re 33-7 when he scores eight or more points in the first quarter. That includes a 22-5 mark from the 2014-15 season.

Redick said during the season he was in one of the best stretches of his career, and a lot of that has to do with his increased knowledge and understanding of where his shots are going to come from each night. During the season, Paul said Redick’s probably the best shooter he’s ever played alongside.

“I just have this confidence in him that I get mad at myself when I miss, but I get mad when J.J. misses too, and that just means I expect it to go in every time,” Paul said.

In 2013-14, Crawford broke his own team record by knocking down 161 shots from 3-point range. In 2014-15, Redick bested that mark by hitting 200. He passed Crawford with 12 games remaining in the regular season, hitting four 3-pointers against the Wizards as part of a 26-point night.

For Redick, it was less about one highlight moment as it was a highlight season. There were plenty of moments to choose, even if many of them seemed under the radar. The night Austin Rivers broke out with a 25-point game in Game 3 against the Rockets during the second round of the playoffs, Redick actually led the Clippers with 31 points.

Redick also had a 30-point game early in the season, but it was what he did later in the year that helped the Clippers the most. Redick averaged 20.6 points per game in March, his highest total of any month during the season, recording eight games with at least 20 points. It was only appropriate he’d set the franchise record for 3-pointers in a single season during that month, surpassing Crawford with his big night against the Wizards.

He said after the game there was no question it was a cool feat to own the team’s record, but what made it even more special is that he went down in Clippers history with his friend and teammate.

“The fact that it was Jamal was cool,” Redick said. “Him and I have struck up a great friendship.”

Looking Forward:

Redick just turned 31, yet he just finished a year in which he played 78 games, which was more than all but one of his previous eight seasons. He showed off what he can do when healthy for a full season, and his ability to stretch defenses was essential to the Clippers’ offensive success.

Head coach Doc Rivers has figured out how to best utilize Redick offensively, and with Paul operating at point guard, Redick’s getting good looks. More importantly, the Clippers players are getting more accustomed to where they can find Redick on the floor. That should only continue to get better, as Redick has two more years left on his contract.

“J.J. is constant movement,” Rivers said earlier this year. “When you’re on the floor with him, you have to have that same mentality. Last year, there were so many missed picks with him, because guys didn’t realize he was still coming. Now, guys search him out.”