An important piece of the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the San Antonio Spurs was the performance of their reserves, particularly D’Angelo Russell and Max Christie. Russell finished with 17 points and five assists while Christie added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in the win.
Russell has had his moments this season, especially since moving to a bench role, but for Christie his recent play has been extra encouraging after such a rough start to the year that saw him go from a big role to out of the rotation completely.
But the coaches and teammates have not lost faith in Christie and Russell recently spoke about one of the wing’s best traits. Following the win over the Spurs, Russell discussed how coachable Christie is and how is always looking to learn, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I appreciate his ability to just be coachable. Guys are hard on him and he’s always coachable. Never lacks the knowledge, he’s always wanting to learn. He’s a sponge. I can go on forever about that guy. I love that guy.”
Russell would continue on about Christie, noting that it is difficult for a young player in this environment to not overthink everything, but he feels the Lakers guard is getting there:
“It’s not easy. Especially it’s not easy here. So just keep your mind right and be ready when the time comes. To answer your question, it’s not easy. So he’s doing alright.”
A lot was expected of Christie at the outset of this season and there is no arguing that he struggled out the gate. But he still possesses the tools to be an effective player in this league and he continues to grow as the season goes on for the Lakers.
Many players might have lost confidence and struggled to recover, especially as the criticism grew louder but Christie has kept his head down and continued to work. That looks to be paying off as Christie seems to be getting more comfortable and thus, more effective for the Lakers which is a huge boost.
Max Christie says Lakers discussed third-quarter issues at halftime vs. Spurs
Even dating back to last season, the Lakers have had issues coming out of halftime flat and experiencing awful third quarters that cost them games. It has been a problem recently and Max Christie revealed that the Lakers spoke about it at halftime against the Spurs.
Christie said that the team acknowledged those issues at halftime and made it a point to force the Spurs to call the first timeout of the quarter. They accomplished their goal and ultimately left with a much-needed win in San Antonio.
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