With LeBron James and Rui Hachimura remaining out for the Los Angeles Lakers, head coach JJ Redick had to figure out the right two players to replace them in the starting lineup. The returning Dorian Finney-Smith was an easy choice, but Redick would go with two-way guard Jordan Goodwin to round out the starters against the Phoenix Suns.
Goodwin would score the first basket of the game, but didn’t register another point for the rest of the contest as the Lakers ended their four-game losing streak with a 107-96 victory over the Suns. Goodwin added three rebounds and two steals, but coming off two double-digit scoring games in his last three, there wasn’t much for Goodwin on the box score.
But that doesn’t mean the he didn’t have a huge impact on the game and Redick made sure to praise the two-way guard for setting the tone for the Lakers against Phoenix.
“I’ll say this, never judge a player based solely on his box score,” Redick said. “Jordan Goodwin was incredible tonight, and he had two points and four fouls. He set the tone for us, and they’re an incredibly difficult team to guard. Our guys executed what we wanted to do. They took the shots we were willing to live with. Him and Doe, everybody had turns because we redded a lot today. But him and Doe set the tone on both Book (Devin Booker) and KD (Kevin Durant). Those guys make tough shots, and we had to try something to make it hard for them, and those two guys set the tone.”
Goodwin is one of those dirty work players who does so much for a team that doesn’t always show up in the stats and that is why he has gained the trust of Redick and the rest of the Lakers. Both Devin Booker and Kevin Durant shot 6-of-17 from the field and Goodwin, along with Finney-Smith, played a large part in their struggles.
Stars always matter, but it has been the play of role players like Goodwin, Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt who have allowed the Lakers to cement themselves as championship contenders.
Lakers coaching staff fought for Jordan Goodwin to get two-way contract
Jordan Goodwin’s performance for the Lakers has many calling for him to have his two-way contract converted to a standard one as he is clearly one of the team’s most important role players. And while Goodwin only signed his deal in February, it would have been much sooner had the coaching staff gotten their way and injuries didn’t pop up.
Head coach JJ Redick said that had Goodwin not suffered a hamstring injury during training camp in September, the Lakers would have signed him to a two-way sooner, adding that the entire coaching staff was pushing for him to get a contract.
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