Here are the key takeaways from the Lakers’ 121-115 win over the Cavaliers on Saturday night.
maximum depth
In many ways, a game like this from second-year guard Max Christie was the expectation, the response to the promise he showed as a rookie and last summer as an exciting prospect for the Lakers ready to secure a rotation spot.
But those minutes weren’t really there, as the Lakers and coach Darvin Ham instead looked to Gabe Vincent and eventually Cam Reddish before Christie got the nod.
But while he waited, Christie cemented his reputation as a true professional, the kind of compliment rarely given to 20-year-olds in a profession where patience doesn’t always pay off.
That happened Friday against the Cavaliers and Donovan Mitchell, with Christie turning in one of the best games of his young career in his second start for the injured Reddish.
“I think if you’re trusted by your coaches, that helps. So knowing his number would be called, he was ready. And he went the extra mile,” LeBron James said of Christie. ‘And he was very important tonight. One of the toughest matches in this competition is of course Donovan Mitchell. His ability to score at all three levels – from the three lines, from the midrange, getting into the paint – I just think he’s done a good job of just trying to keep his body on him, give him hard shots let it be made and not to offend him. And he also made some important shots for us. Key plays for us. He was great.”
Read more: We have the absolute best idea for the NBA and demand they do it | The Times Lakers Show
Christie finished with 12 points, his highest total this year. He scored twice on dunks at the basket and late in the fourth saved the team with a strong jumper to end broken possessions.
But it was his defense, especially against Mitchell, that had the Lakers so excited on Friday.
“Max just wants to win. He plays hard and rises to that challenge against a guy who is the leading scorer at all three levels,” said Anthony Davis. “He made sure he knew his tendencies and took on that challenge, especially late in the game when they know the whole arena knows they’re going to him — especially with Darius Garland out and things like that. So he was the man and he had two big stops for us. There’s not much more you can ask for. The fact that he is only in his second year and is taking on that challenge says a lot about him.”
Passing by passively
The Lakers spent a lot of time during training camp hoping that their continuity from last season would help get their offensive flow going and allow the team to play with more ball movement.
During the first quarter of the season, results were mixed; the Lakers’ passing looked sluggish at times, as the ball lingered on the perimeter for a blink of an eye too long.
However, on Friday the Lakers attacked the Cavs in different ways, using dribble penetration to initiate much of their passing, keeping Cleveland moving and unable to reach a specific area. The result was a great balance, with seven players scoring at least 10 points and an eighth, Taurean Prince, adding seven. Four different Lakers, including Prince, had at least five assists, while Austin Reaves dished out 10.
Read more: For Christian Wood, the Lakers role is easy to define, but difficult to achieve
The Lakers’ 34 assists as a team were the second-most this season. Last week against Houston, the Lakers had 35 assists.
“Just share the basketball – if you don’t have a chance, move it to the next person and they have a chance, or move it to the next person. Just playing stress-free and letting the ball dictate the type of shot we get, instead of guys being selfish or trying to find their own looks,” Davis said. “Obviously you’ll experience that throughout the game if a guy is good or has an advantage, but for the most part, ball and body movement is something we preach.”
Reaves said the assists were proof the Lakers were playing his preferred style: “the right way.”
“Any time you can increase that assist number, it means you’re playing the game the right way. You make the extra pass, play unselfishly and that’s the goal,” Reaves said. “When you do that, everyone feels good and everyone has touched the ball and when the ball is turned their way, they feel confident that they have the ball in their hands. That’s the most important thing for us as a unit: play the game the right way and get the assists up.”
AD A plus
After a quiet second half in a tight loss to Dallas on Wednesday, Davis scored 15 points in the third and eight in the fourth on Saturday, dominating against Cleveland’s supersized frontcourt.
‘Everyone is quick to kill AD when he has a bad night. I think if you look back at his nights off, he somehow has more of an impact on the game than what the average person notices,” Reaves said. “They’re going up this one [box score], look how many points he had and go straight to their phones and start tweeting stuff and bashing him for not having 25 or 30 points. But he influences the game in so many ways that he is still very productive for us on his bad nights. Every time he plays like that, I think we’ll be hard to beat. He is super efficient.”
Davis will have another big matchup on Sunday against reigning MVP Joel Embiid, when the Lakers will try to keep him as involved as he was on Friday.
Read more: Would trading for Zach LaVine help the Lakers?
“He calls 95% of our pick-and-rolls and when he has a chance to catch it in the pocket, or when the bigs go up and it allows us to find him in transition and he gets a chance to to seal it or whatever, we have to find it,” James said. “I mean, it’s that simple. And there are also times when we have certain play calls that we can call right away so we can get him the ball as well. But even if he doesn’t shoot, he only touches the ball. And I think from the beginning of the match, I think right after my and-one, when we got a chance to call our first set, I think he touched the ball and throughout the whole match he kept touching the ball.
“And that is very important for our ball club.”
Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.
This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.