With Deandre Ayton being forced to leave Sunday’s game against the Utah Jazz in the first half due to a right knee contusion, the Los Angeles Lakers were forced to turn to their other big man options. Of course Jaxson Hayes has stepped up in the past, but down the stretch of the game it was Maxi Kleber who found himself on the court.
Kleber hasn’t been in the rotation much when the team has been healthy, but head coach JJ Redick trusted him in Utah and he came through big time as the Lakers held on for a 108-106 victory over the Jazz.
While his numbers won’t stand out, Kleber made an obvious positive impact for this team and Austin Reaves called the big man one of the Lakers’ best players in this game despite him not liking being complimented, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I’ve given him many compliments in games before and he always tells me that he didn’t play good. So I told him today I was like ‘I know you think I’m messing with you every time I talk to you,’ but he was one of the best players on the floor for us tonight. Just energy, effort, the way he plays, the plays he made. It’s not easy to sit the whole first half and then come out there and doing what he did so you tip your hat to guys like that. You wanna see them succeed.”
Kleber and Gabe Vincent gave the Lakers some huge minutes in the fourth quarter, really sparking a run that allowed the Lakers to push ahead and then hold on late. As Reaves noted, it isn’t easy to not play the entire first half, and likely expect not to see the court period, only to get called in due to injury. But that is a credit to Kleber always being ready if needed.
The veteran big man has played on the biggest stages throughout his NBA career so there are rarely situations that he has not dealt with. He may not be a part of the regular rotation, but it is great to know that when he is called on, the Lakers have a reliable big who can impact the game in many different ways.
Luka Doncic praises Maxi Kleber’s performance in Lakers’ win over Jazz
Austin Reaves wasn’t the only player who took note of Maxi Kleber’s performance in the Lakers’ victory over the Jazz. Luka Doncic called it a ’10 out of 10′ game for the big man to help the team get the win.
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