JJ Redick gives Suns the ultimate compliment they don't want to hear

The Phoenix Suns avenged their only loss of this young season - and moved to 3-1 in the process - on Monday night, as they beat the visiting Los Angeles Lakers 109-105. Exactly what this group needed after throwing away a 22 point lead against the same opponent mere days ago.

There was more good news in the return of Grayson Allen after a couple of games missed, while Bradley Beal was also back in the starting lineup. It was Kevin Durant and Devin Booker who once again led the way though, combining for 63 points in the win.

Which led to a backhanded compliment from JJ Redick.

The new Lakers head coach with zero coaching experience has hit the ground running, with his roster playing a kind of intense and smart style of play that has been missing in Los Angeles for several seasons. It is too early to tell if Redick is going to be a success there - but for now at least - they have bought into what it is he is trying to do.

The Suns on the other hand are leaning into the strengths of their own head coach in Mike Budenholzer. He won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks - ironcially against the Suns - by playing a brand of offensive basketball that was built around a superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo and 3-point shooting.

So far in this young season this team are takin 37.5 attempts from deep each night, good for 13th in the league and a number that is going to increase as the season goes on. Even better, they sit fifth in makes at 38 percent. Yet Redick didn't think it was the 3-pointers that ultimately hurt the Lakers, and was instead the very kind of shots that the coaching staff are working hard to move away from.

As Redick himself put it in the post-game interview, "in some ways, we lost to Kevin Durant and Devin Booker’s ability to make tough twos". That might sound like a positive - and really bailing their team out of a stagnant possession is a massive plus for the Suns - but successful basketball cannot be built on this kind of offense.

It was those same shots that did not go in for the Suns in the comeback win for the Lakers, and there are going to be nights when Durant and Booker just won't be able to make some of these buckets. Coach Redick also alluding to the Suns taking these tough two-pointers is again exactly what the Suns don't want to do as much as possible.

As we broke down last month ahead of the new season, the Suns have had players appear all over the list of top midrange scorers in the league for the last five years. When you employ Durant, that comes with the territory. But it is clear coach Budenholzer is trying to move away from that - while leaning into the range of Allen and Beal - with early returns looking promising.

Which is why these comments from Redick can be viewed both ways. Yes it is great to have superstars who can dig you out of tight spots by making low percentage shots. But we already saw how that looks over a whole season last time out, with the franchise needing to move away from this as a primary form of offense. Coach Redick is already playing mind games at an elite leve.