Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick has distinguished himself as an elite basketball mind with a keen sense of tactics. 

Redick made the jump from former player to NBA head coach straight away, with no prior coaching experience at the college or NBA level. So far, he's proven himself up to the task, coaching the Lakers to a 50-32 record last season and a 10-4 record so far this season.

His coaching abilities and knowledge of the game reveal themselves in the insights that he can share. When Redick was questioned about what the biggest challenge was about playing defense in the NBA, he gave a thorough answer. 

Why the Modern NBA is So Challenging to Defend In

"I don't think there's one thing you can point to because every single team has a different problem that you have to solve... one of the biggest problems is young teams using modern NBA concepts," Redick said (via X). "The amount of movement and actions that you have to guard on possession, and then they are playing at 103, 104, 105 pace, that's really taxing."

Redick zeroed in on just how many weapons an NBA team can possess offensively, which makes defending a challenge. The skill level that NBA players across the board have at their disposal not only requires teams to pull out all the stops to defend, but it also means that you have to adapt in every game, as each team uses their own offensive specialty that has to be addressed. 

How the Formula Changes 

The effort level that elite teams like the Denver Nuggets apply in addition to their skills also presents a challenge than wear out teams that are trying to keep up in defense. Redick also shared the challenges that the Lakers are facing on the offensive end with Lebron James out and the contributions that he makes when he's on the court.

"We're missing our biggest transition player in LeBron and you look at Denver, they have a great outlet passer and a great defensive rebounder and a bunch of guys that just sprint every single time, that creates a problem. Off-ball screens create a problem. All of the movement stuff... it's hard to guard. And it's not one thing, because the formula is different for every team."

Developing those formulas in matchups night after night is one of the many responsibilities of a head coach when they plan for a game and with that game plan changing so often, it takes a strong technical understanding of the game to hold on to success.