Los Angeles Lakers two-way player Drew Timme has gotten his first opportunity in the rotation the last couple of games and has made the most of it.
After scoring 21 points off the bench in the loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, JJ Redick gave Timme another look in the rotation on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.
While Timme only scored three points, he still made a big impact for L.A. as he was a plus-17 in 16 minutes of action.
Timme was a superstar in college at Gonzaga, but his perceived deficiencies, particularly on the defensive end, has made it hard for him to carve out a path in the NBA.
Now that he is finally getting an opportunity with the Lakers though, he talked about using those detractors as fuel.
“Oh yeah. I mean, in college and since I left, it’s ‘You can’t do this, you can’t do that, you’re not good enough for this and that.’ All these things. All these things that I can’t do. I see it and it’s fuel,” Timme said after the Raptors win.
“At the end of the day, I’m a good player, I believe in myself and my abilities and I believe that I can impact a game at any level, anywhere. Just carrying that belief with me, it helps push me on days where maybe I’m not as motivated. But it’s great. To be able to have this opportunity and to help the team, it’s great.”
Redick played Timme at the forward position in order to remain in the rotation, and the 25-year-old expressed appreciation for the coaching staff having that type of trust in him.
“Yeah, they just told me to be ready. That’s part of the job, you know? Whatever is asked of me, whenever, I just gotta do it. It was great,” he said. “I’m glad that they trusted me enough to let me play like the 3-4 hybrid. It’s pretty cool that they trust me that much, especially since I haven’t really done much for them. So it feels great.”
While Timme is known to be a scorer, his focus in on doing the little things to help the Lakers win games, which is a great mindset to have.
“Just impact the game. Whether it was creating mismatches or getting someone an open shot, and just playing hard. Obviously it would be nice to score 20 points like the other day, but that’s just not realistic,” Timme said.
“You have to be adaptable and just find a way to impact and I feel like if I just run the floor, play hard and create open shots for other people and the defense is solid, good things will happen. That’s all I can ask for at the end of the day.”
Drew Timme developing playmaking with South Bay
One focus for Timme during his time with the South Bay Lakers in the G League has been his playmaking, and he appreciates the coaching staff pushing him to get better in that regard.
“Yeah, it’s huge. I mean, I think I said it the other day, but it’s a huge credit to Zach (Guthrie) and all the guys at South Bay. They’ve challenge me to add that to my game and be more of an playmaker on the perimeter and decision-maker on the perimeter. I’ve been down there for a decent amount and they hold me accountable and push me and keep me sharp for moments when I am called upon. You just gotta be ready whenever your number is called and it’s awesome that both teams are so connected. It helps me be prepared for moments like this because you can go a lot of times without touching the ball and getting some good burn in. So it’s pretty awesome to have a setup like we do here.”
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