One of the biggest surprises for the Los Angeles Lakers this season has been the play of Jaxson Hayes.
After the team traded Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic last season, Hayes was unexpectedly thrust into a starting role. While he played well down the stretch of the regular season, he struggled greatly during the playoffs, leading many to believe he wouldn’t be back with the Lakers.
He wound up signing a new one-year deal though to back up Deandre Ayton, and so far that has been a sneaky good signing for the Lakers.
Hayes has been outplaying Ayton in recent weeks and overall on the season, he has the fourth-highest plus-minus on the team at +54.
After another strong game for Hayes in Friday night’s win over the Indiana Pacers, Austin Reaves shared praise for the big man.
“I think maturity,” Reaves said when asked where Hayes’ biggest growth has been this season. “The way he approaches the game day-to-day, does what he needs to do in his off time around the gym, gets his work in, takes care of his body. And then, just the preparation that he puts into it. You can tell he is growing in those aspects and that’s just made him a better player. Yeah, we could probably all agree that this is some of the best basketball he’s played in his career. Happy for him. We need him to continue to do it, it’s a big part of what we’re gonna do.”
In 53 games (eight starts) for the Lakers this season, Hayes is averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds. While those numbers may not jump off the page, he is only playing 17.7 minutes per game and is among the league leaders in field goal percentage at 76.4%.
Hayes has given the Lakers a much-needed lob threat, particularly when he is sharing the court with Luka Doncic. He has also shown growth defensively and as a playmaker in the short roll, leaving room for optimism that he will be a much bigger factor for L.A. in the playoffs this year compared to last.
JJ Redick ‘very confident’ in Jaxson Hayes
Lakers starting center Deandre Ayton has recently been in and out of the lineup due to injuries and if he is forced to miss more time, head coach JJ Redick expressed confidence in Jaxson Hayes.
“Very confident. I thought he was terrific tonight,” Redick said after the Lakers’ recent loss to the Denver Nuggets. “He played basically 28 minutes and that was a lot for him. I think not having Maxi tonight actually really hurt us, particularly with DA out. But Jaxson, I definitely have confidence in him.”
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