As the Los Angeles Lakers embarked on their annual Grammy Trip, they looked to drastically improve their road record. Unfortunately, Anthony Davis left Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers early with an abdominal injury, which placed pressure on Jaxson Hayes to perform as he gets the lion’s share of the center minutes.
Now that Davis is set miss at least a week, Hayes is getting a bit of an extended look in the starting lineup.
The 24-year-old took advantage of his athleticism against Jonas Valanciunas and the Washington Wizards on Thursday and put together a solid game of 10 points and 10 rebounds on 4-for-4 from the field in a dominant 134-96 win. After the game, head coach JJ Redick to commend Hayes’ play with the team currently dealing with injuries, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I thought everybody played well. Jaxson put pressure on the rim, defensively he was fantastic. We had a lead but we don’t get a call on one end and they throw it ahead and they got a 3-on-1 or 4-on-1 and he goes vertical and prevents a layup. We go down and Bron, instead of going for 35,342 points, decides to pass to Vando and give Vando the dunk. But that play from Jaxson was awesome. You can get trapped a little bit by the score and not give multiple efforts, but there was not a point in the game where we did not give multiple efforts.”
All be it being the Wizards, it is still great to see the Lakers handle business despite being without Davis, Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith. Leading up to the trade deadline, if L.A. opts not to make a move to bring in another center, Hayes is set to have challenging matchups in the coming weeks.
Next up is the New York Knicks, who have an All-Star in Karl Anthony-Towns. Then the L.A. Clippers with former Laker Ivica Zubac, who put up 21 points and 19 rebounds against Davis and Hayes a couple weeks ago. Given Hayes’ lean frame, Redick is going to have to find ways to utilize his athleticism to make up from defensive concerns.
Thankfully, there is an opportunity for general manager Rob Pelinka to potentially bring in more reinforcements. But, if nothing materializes, the All-Star break is around the corner, which allows players to rest before a crucial last stretch of the regular season.
Jaxson Hayes hoping to help with Lakers’ transition defense & rebounding struggles
The center position has been a topic of discussion due to it being an area of weakness. However, Jaxson Hayes is getting an opportunity to subside those concerns with the hopes of helping the Lakers’ transition defense and rebounding struggles.
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