It took an entire team effort for the Los Angeles Lakers to upset the Boston Celtics on the road Thursday night. Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell will get a lot of praise, and rightfully so, but it was big man Jaxson Hayes who may have made the biggest impact in the victory.
The big man had his best game in a Lakers uniform, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and three steals in the nine-point victory. Six of those rebounds were offensive and Hayes just played with an energy that was infectious and rubbed off on the rest of the team.
Afterwards, Reaves praised Hayes’ defensive effort and his ability to defend without fouling in some very difficult situations, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I think if you know basketball and you watch basketball, you can tell. Just like he was talking about, the way he was guarding the ball and not fouling, that’s a tough task against a team like this, especially Tatum, he gets to the line very well. There was a couple times he had him in iso situations and Jaxson was able to stay in front and show his hands and get deflections, letting us get out in transition. It’s not just that, it’s the rebounds, all the hustle plays that he makes that don’t show up on the statsheet.”
Russell echoed that sentiment, not only praising his efforts on the floor, but also his mindset throughout the season and remaining ready for his opportunity, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Credit to him, man. Being a young player in the league and getting shipped around a little bit, shifted in and out of the rotation and still continuing to have a positive mentality throughout all of that. I’ve seen him, he may feel it one day, but he finds a way to still be professional and keep him mind right. So when he came out tonight and played and saw AD wasn’t playing, he’s been ready. When he got the opportunity, he was ready for it because his mind was right. Huge, huge defensively. I know he scored and did the double-doubles and all that, but defensively he dominated the game. Credit to him.”
No one hopes for injuries, especially to the All-Stars on your team, but they do create opportunities for others to show what they are capable of. Hayes has rarely been in the rotation, but he proved on this night what he can do if given regular minutes.
Austin Reaves: Injuries allowed role players to show what they can do
Without their two best players it took a collective effort for the Lakers to beat the Celtics on the road as everyone stepped up and contributed. Austin Reaves felt LeBron and Davis being out gave the role players a chance to show what they can do and they took advantage.
Reaves noted that they didn’t do anything fancy, simply came together as a unit and played as hard as they could. And when LeBron and Davis are back, they have to do the same thing.
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