The play went into motion more than an hour before tip-off Friday night in Canada, Lakers guards D’Angelo Russell and Max Christie strategizing on one side of the team’s locker room as they got ready for the Raptors.
Through the first two weeks of the season, Christie struggled.
“I’m just playing robotically,” he told People.
In his third season, now with a real role as the first player permanently from the bench, much of the momentum he built during the summer and preseason slipped away under a lot of missed shots and defensive uncertainty.
Russell saw a window to do something about it.
The two players talked about how when Christie checked in later that night, Russell would try to break down a defender off the dribble, allowing Christie to quickly cut backdoor for a layup.
Read more: LeBron James and Lakers “take two steps forward” in victory over Raptors
It was prophetic.
On the first possession after Christie controlled midway through the first quarter, Russell dribbled with his left toward Christie in the corner. And just as they were talking about it, Christie cut hard to the edge. Russell launched a top rebound pass that found his teammate, who burst toward the rim for the hard layup and foul.
“Crazy, huh?” Russell said with a huge smile after the game.
Christie finished the game with seven points, his best offensive output of the young season. He finished plus-7, the first time the Lakers have outscored their opponents during Christie’s minutes.
“I’m just finding ways to make the game easier for our younger guys, trying to simplify it, help them think less, help them be in a position where they can be the best,” Russel said. “For me, I know Max is a confident guy, so trying to instill confidence in him and keep him there, no matter how the storm goes and adversity. Just keep that confidence high, you’ll be fine.”
For the Lakers, moments like this are crucial as the team tries to build trust with each other under a new coaching staff and system.
It’s specifically encouraging for Russell, who JJ Redick pushed this summer to be a consistent vocal leader bought to win above all else.
“It’s one of the challenges I gave him the first day he came to the gym, and he used his voice. He was energetic and we talked about it later. And I said, that’s what I want, that’s got to be your standard,” Redick said. “That’s got to be who you are every day, regardless of whether shots are going in or not, or if you’re down at the end of a game. And look, he played very well tonight. He will have a lot of good games where he plays well. His spirit hasn’t diminished at all with whatever you want to call it, shootouts, to start the season. He was amazing.
“And I think for all of our kids, it’s a great example. … It’s something we talked about with some of our older players. It is you who must be a leader with these young children and help take them. Give them some confidence and it’s great to hear DLo has done that.”
League reopens Jaxson Hayes investigation
Following a video released early Saturday morning on the TMZ website, the NBA is reopening an investigation into a 2021 incident in which Jaxson Hayes was arrested and charged with 12 misdemeanors including domestic battery and resisting arrest.
Hayes later pleaded no contest to two of the charges – false imprisonment and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to community service and probation. The NBA did not punish him.
Security camera footage obtained by TMZ showed Hayes, then a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, and then-girlfriend Sofia Jamora in an argument. In the footage, Hayes shoves Jamora and spits at her.
“As a result of the media report and video posted [Saturday] morning, we are reopening our investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
Speaking to reporters Sunday in Toronto, Redick said the team is aware and cooperating with the league’s investigation but would not comment.
After the team signed Hayes in 2023, general manager Rob Pelinka said the Lakers took the allegations “very seriously” and were “doing a full vetting process.”
“Jaxson was very open [with] his apologies for dealing with that and moving past it to where he had a year or two in the NBA playing after it,” Pelinka said. “It was something we felt he owned, took responsibility for it, and there will be more a good person on the other side of it.”
The Lakers play Monday in Detroit.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
