The Los Angeles Lakers pride themselves on the defensive end but they have recently been without some of their key contributors on that end of the floor. Obviously having Anthony Davis helps to make up for a lot of deficiencies, but the team also welcomed back one of their best perimeter defenders Friday night in Cam Reddish.
Reddish played 19 minutes in his return from an ankle injury and while he didn’t score, he did play a big role in the defensive effort the Lakers placed on Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey.
While Maxey finished with 27 points, the Lakers forced him into a 10-of-26 shooting night overall, including 1-of-9 from 3-point range in their 101-94 victory.
Afterwards, Davis discussed the impact Reddish’s return has on the Lakers’ defense as a whole, especially in matchups against players such as Maxey.
“Just making it the tough on perimeter players,” Davis said about what Reddish brings to the table defensively. “Tonight it was [Tyrese] Maxey. He’s a big guy, and then just funneling them down to me. I kind of do the rest.
“Having Cam back is tremendous for our defense. He loves those matchups. He takes those matchups personally and takes pride in getting stops. So having him back only makes us more confident in our defense.”
Those small, quicker guards have given the Lakers trouble all season long as Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell simply don’t have the speed to keep them in front. Players like De’Aaron Fox and Jamal Murray just give the Lakers fits and while Reddish alone won’t shut those guys down, he does provide a much better option in trying to contain them.
Reddish is an excellent athlete, but also his size at 6’8 gives those guards something else to worry about as he is great at contesting shots and getting a hand in the face on shots. The Lakers are all about defense with Davis leading the charge, but having Reddish back undoubtedly gives them a boost on the perimeter.
Anthony Davis happy Lakers stayed locked in defensively despite offensive issues
The defense certainly carried the Lakers against the Sixers as they held them below 100 points on just 34.3% shooting. And despite their own offensive issues and inability to take care of the ball, Davis was happy the Lakers stayed locked in defensively.
“We got to, no matter what happens on the offensive end, we have been able to rely on our defense,” Davis said. “They made some plays, made some shots, we turned it over like 20-plus times tonight. They did their job on the defensive end to turn the ball over, which they’ve been great at since Joel [Embiid] been hurt, but we just stayed locked in defensively to just continue to get stops and then let that fuel our offense.”
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