Cam Reddish played an instrumental role in the Los Angeles Lakers’ massive comeback victory on the first night of a back-to-back against the L.A. Clippers. He did so in his first game back after missing over a month with an injury, but head coach Darvin Ham felt enough trust for the young guard that he gave him a chance in crunch time when the Lakers needed it most. But it looked much different the next night against the Washington Wizards.
On the second night of the back-to-back, Reddish played only four minutes as the Lakers barely escaped the lowly Wizards with a three-point win in overtime. Given what Reddish had provided for the Lakers in his return the night before, it seemed odd for him to be out of the rotation despite being active and available.
Ham was questioned about Reddish’s availability after the game, and the head coach admitted it was just about preserving Reddish long-term and not overextending him immediately upon return from injury with his ankle feeling sore from playing the night before.
“He was just experiencing a little bit of soreness and having not played in almost three or four weeks, whatever it was, playing last night, gave us some huge minutes last night, so on a back-to-back we just decided to put him on ice early and make sure he starts the process of being ready for Saturday. We have Max, who is more than capable of filling that void. So we were able to get through it.”
Max Christie only got nine minutes on the floor against the Wizards, with the Lakers largely sticking to an seven-man rotation as the game tightened up. Only Spencer Dinwiddie and Taurean Prince got more than 12 minutes off of the bench on Thursday.
Ham, though, is excited to have Reddish back in the mix given everything he brings to the team defensively.
“Absolutely. That’s a god-given talent of his, his ability to avoid screens whether it’s off-ball, on-ball. His height, his athleticism, his knack for getting deflections and steals, rebounds, all of that is very much needed with our group. It sets a tone as well. Other guys see what he’s doing out there and it rubs off.”
Reddish has proven himself to be a big factor for the Lakers, bigger than anyone could have expected when he signed for the minimum in the offseason. And he showed that against the Clippers on Wednesday and should continue to do so as the season progresses.
Darvin Ham: LeBron James put on superhero cape for Lakers
LeBron James put the Lakers on his back in the fourth quarter against the Clippers on Wednesday, scoring 19 points, making five triples. James outscored the Clippers by himself, which is tremendous in his 21st season and Ham described what it was like watching that kind of performance.
“Everybody was just cheering him on,” Ham said. “He had to tape a cape tucked under his seat on the bench, I guess. He had to whip it out, he definitely did that, put the cape on and just got aggressive and got in a good rhythm. He’s been shooting the ball extremely well this whole entire season and that was just another case of it. Once he got in rhythm and with his playmaking skills, he sets the tone with his shooting and going down hill, but once they started scheming and trying to double team late, he was able to pick them apart with a pass and that’s just who he is.”
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