The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a three-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, but the final tally hardly tells the story of the game. The Lakers trailed by 20 points entering the fourth and final quarter of play, and head coach Darvin Ham — looking for something different — turned to young center Jaxson Hayes alongside LeBron James, Taurean Prince, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura.
Hayes played the next nine minutes and helped the Lakers cut their deficit to seven before being subbed out around the three-minute mark. His impact was not seen on the box score, but he played a pivotal defensive role in the Lakers’ near comeback.
Ham spoke about the decision to trust Hayes when he had played only two minutes in the three quarters prior and what he saw from the center in the extended playing time.
“I mean, it just, it’s that period of the process of discovery, right? And you just have to throw guys out there,” Ham said. “See what you’re gonna get especially this early in the season.
“Again, we keep mentioning those first 20 games you’re trying to find out what you’re made up of individually, which guys can handle what type of situation and what circumstances and I thought he did great. He infused some energy into our lineup and that fourth quarter did a great job moving his feet, rebounds, changing shots, everything. And so I thought he did a phenomenal job under the circumstances.”
Hayes is playing his smallest role in five seasons as an NBA player. He’s averaging career lows across the board, but significantly so in minutes and points per game. However, nights like Wednesday could go a long way toward him securing a spot in the rotation at some point this season.
Ham now has some faith that if he turns to Hayes on any given night, he could deliver.
LeBron James discusses Lakers needing frequent comeback attempts
The Lakers have made a habit this season of falling into big holes during games and having to climb out of those holes. They’ve done so successfully on several occasions, but would rather not be in those situations at all.
“We gave ourselves a fighting chance but it’s kind of tough when you go down that many points, especially when you’re going into the fourth against a high-powered offense,” James said postgame. “But I liked our defense in the last 12 minutes. We just got to be better for the first 36.”
“It’s not ideal, but it’s good to have it. But it’s not ideal.”
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