The play was set in motion over an hour before the start on Friday evening in Canada. Lakers guards D’Angelo Russell and Max Christie strategized on one side of the team’s locker room as they prepared to face the Raptors.
Through the first two weeks of the season, Christie had struggled.
“I just play robotically,” he told people.
In his third season, now with a real role as the first player consistently off the bench, much of the momentum he built over the summer and preseason slipped away under a pile of missed shots and defensive uncertainty.
Russell saw a window he could do something about.
The two players talked about how, when Christie checked in later that night, Russell would try to take a defender off the dribble, allowing Christie to quickly cut the backdoor for a layup.
Read more: LeBron James and Lakers ‘take two steps forward’ in win over Raptors
It was prophetic.
On the first possession, after Christie checked in midway through the first quarter, Russell dribbled with his left toward Christie in the corner. And exactly what they were talking about, Christie cut hard to the edge. Russell fired an accurate bounce pass that found his teammate, who exploded to the rim due to the difficult layup and a foul.
“Crazy, right?” Russell said after the game with a big smile.
Christie finished the game with seven points, his best offensive performance of the young season. He finished with a plus-7, the first time the Lakers defeated their opponents during Christie’s minutes.
“I just find ways to make the game easier for our younger guys, try to simplify it, help them think less, help them get into a position where they can be the best,” Russell said. “For me, I know Max is a confident guy, so I try to give him confidence and keep him there no matter how the storms and adversities go. Keep that trust high and you will be fine.”
For the Lakers, moments like these are crucial as the team tries to build trust with each other under a new coaching staff and system.
It’s especially encouraging for Russell, who was pushed by JJ Redick this summer to be a consistent vocal leader who wanted 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 afterwards. And I said, that’s what I want, that should be your standard,” Redick said. “That has to be who you are every day, regardless of whether or not shots are fired, or whether you are eliminated at the end of a match. And look, he played really well tonight. He will play many good games in which he plays well. His spirit hasn’t diminished at all with whatever you want to call it, shootouts, to start the season. He was fantastic.
“And I think this is a great example for all our guys. … It’s something we’ve talked to some of our older players about. You have to be a leader with these young guys and help pick them up. Give, give them some confidence and it’s great to hear that DLo has done that.”
League reopens Jaxson Hayes investigation
Following a video released on TMZ’s website early Saturday morning, the NBA is reopening an investigation into a 2021 incident in which Jaxson Hayes was arrested and charged with 12 felonies, including domestic violence 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 penalize him.
Security camera footage obtained by TMZ showed Hayes, then a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, and then-girlfriend Sofia Jamora arguing. In the footage, Hayes pushes Jamora and spits at her.
“In response to the media report and the video posted [Saturday] We will reopen our investigation tomorrow,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.
Redick told reporters in Toronto on Sunday that the team is aware of and cooperating with the league’s investigation but will not comment.
After the team signed Hayes in 2023, general manager Rob Pelinka said the Lakers took the allegations “very seriously” and “conducted a full vetting process.”
“Jaxson has been very genuine [with] apologized for how that was handled and moved on to where he played in the NBA for a year or two after that,” Pelinka said. “It was something that we felt like he owned, took responsibility for, and will be a better person on the other side.”
The Lakers play in Detroit on Monday.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
