THE HOT GAME of basketball (Shutterstock).

Just don’t throw any chairs, OK?

Regarding the revolving door at the head coach’s office at the Los Angeles Lakers, I regarded with a skeptical eye the recent firing of Darvin Ham despite a quite respectable performance of two playoff trips and an advance to the NBA Western Conference finals last year.

But this new guy – J.J. Redick – has changed my mind. A bit.

It’s not that I disagree with the Lake Show’s habit of throwing every coach overboard who doesn’t bring home a league title. I think it’s short-sighted and counter-productive.

But, based on his introduction on Monday, I think this guy could be quite a find.

Redick, in case you didn’t know, has no NBA coaching experience although he did play 15 seasons in the league. He has been in the conversation because a) he had a podcast in which he impressed many listeners with a remarkable grasp of how the game is played, and b) LeBron James really likes him, having shared a podcast with him.

All good points in his favor, but what puts me in his corner is his evident sense of humor. Let’s face it; many, if not most hoops coaches – at any level – are wound tighter than a cheap watch. From 1966. They strangle game programs, throw chairs, scream at officials and their own players, and (sometimes) other players, fans, etc.

In high school we had a coach who plunged into the crowd to confront a fan who was making too sharp a critique of the coach’s strategies.

But J.J., he won hearts by this deadpan confession: “I have never coached in the NBA before. I don’t know if you guys have heard that.”

He later listed his previous coaching triumphs as “I am a two-time 55 Swish League champion in the third- and fourth-grade division.”

Anyone who seems willing to throw off old coaching stereotypes might be able to throw off old ways of playing basketball. Good luck to you, J.J. Seriously.