Luka Doncic needed to play heavy minutes to help the Los Angeles Lakers eek out a win over the Utah Jazz, but he had some of his unheralded teammates step up in the clutch.
Deandre Ayton was ruled out for the second half of the game, forcing head coach JJ Redick to start Jaxson Hayes in his place. However, Redick also decided to dust off Maxi Kleber who has played sparingly since being cleared to return.
Kleber missed most of the second half of the 2024-25 season and playoffs due to a foot injury, so he has been trying hard to get his basketball rhythm back. Against the Jazz, Kleber looked the healthiest he’s been in almost a year as he was mobile and active on both sides of the basketball.
After the win over Utah, Doncic praised Kleber for his performance in an interview with Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet:
“A lot. His minutes were great for us. He played amazing basketball today. He does the little things that don’t show up in the statistics. So that was a 10 out of 10 game from him. We needed that.”
Kleber played 14 minutes off the bench and recorded just two points, three rebounds and one block but he was instrumental in the win due to his defensive effort. Kleber did well keeping up in rotations when the Jazz tried to spread out the floor with shooting and even contested shots at the rim.
Offensively, he didn’t have many opportunities to score though he had a dunk in crunch time that helped Los Angeles stay ahead. His biggest play of the night came on the final possession as he was able to close out on Keyonte George’s game-winning 3-point attempt and force a miss.
It remains to be seen whether or not Ayton will be forced to miss time but if he is then Kleber would be next in lin to handle backup center minutes. Redick could also go smaller and turn to someone like Jarred Vanderbilt though Kleber makes sense if he wants the offense to stay as potent as possible.
Luka Doncic wants Lakers to keep building chemistry game by game
The Lakers returned most of their roster from last year and the early returns have been encouraging as Luka Doncic has helped elevate everyone. There are still some kinks and wrinkles to be ironed out, though, which is why Doncic wants the team to keep building chemistry game by game.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
