Going into this season, the expectation was incoming second-year wing Max Christie would break into the rotation of the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, plenty of people expected him to be their backup shooting guard behind Austin Reaves.
He had shown promise in spot duty last season as a rookie, and he was very impressive during summer league play in multiple categories.
However, in L.A.’s first two games of the 2023-24 regular season, Christie has played a grand total of one minute (in garbage time at the end of its season opener versus the Denver Nuggets). Meanwhile, Cam Reddish, a former lottery pick some consider a bust, has taken the spot Christie was expected to occupy.
Head coach Darvin Ham explained on Saturday why he has gone with Reddish over Christie.
Via Lakers Nation:
“Just his size. Max is a part of us, he’s gonna be a part of us for a long time to come. Still a young player, developing,” Ham said. “Cam having had more games under his belt, his size, athleticism, they’re both phenomenal basketball players but just wanted to get a look at what Cam can do at the outset of things.”
On opening night, Reddish made a contribution by going 2-of-4 from the field and 1-of-2 from 3-point range in 18 minutes. Thursday’s game against the Phoenix Suns wasn’t as kind: He shot 2-of-5 and missed all three of his 3-point attempts while getting torched by Kevin Durant defensively.
At the end of the day, whether Reddish holds onto the backup wing spot or Christie supplants him, the Lakers need effective, versatile defense and consistent, reliable 3-point shooting from that spot. In their first two games, the Lakers have made 25.9% of their attempts from downtown.