The Los Angeles Lakers were in a back-and-forth battle late with the New Orleans Pelicans. Up two with under five seconds left, LeBron James took a jumper to try and extend the lead to two possessions. He missed, giving the Pelicans a chance to secure the board and try and win the game. But Max Christie was able to tip the ball out to James, forcing the Pelicans to foul.
It was a big play for Christie, who has still been working to find his footing in the Lakers rotation in his first season under new head coach JJ Redick. Redick loudly asserted that Christie would become a rotation mainstay, and that has come with some growing pains as well as some stellar moments.
Saturday night’s win certainly qualified as a stellar moment, and the third-year guard spoke about his mindset on that tip out to James.
“Yeah could definitely do that. I think it was low enough clock to where they had like three seconds left, that’s probably a heave. If they get the ball they’d have to dribble it up and heave it. So you can be absolutely aggressive, find a route to crash. The only thing is you don’t want to foul, I was able to get a tip without fouling to secure the game.”
Christie being able to read the game situation so perfectly and match the aggression of the moment to help the Lakers secure the win is exactly what the team likes so much about the young guard. He is an extremely smart player that is always going to be in the right spots and make the right plays.
It’s the type of thing the Lakers were able to learn from his first two years despite him not being a regular part of the rotation. And he received a four-year contract in part due to that upside in his intelligence.
JJ Redick really happy for Max Christie
Max Christie, who got rewarded with a new contract this past offseason, was an early disappointment for L.A. They displayed their faith in Christie by giving him a four-year, $32 million contract and setting him up for a spot in the rotation under Redick.
After not playing much in his first two seasons and having an inconsistent role, many expected the former Michigan State Spartan to shine with a consistent bench role this season.
However, his shooting and decision making were not good enough to stay in the rotation through the first handful of games of the season. But, Christie got another opportunity on Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs and made the most of it with his best performance on the year. After the win, JJ Redick expressed how happy he is for Christie.
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