A LeBron James three-point play cut the Los Angeles Lakers’ deficit against the Miami Heat on Monday night to just one point, 108-107, with 2:39 remaining. LeBron would miss a shot and Austin Reaves would miss a pair of open looks, but it was Cam Reddish who had the final look to win the game for the Lakers. However his corner three was a little long and that scoreline remained the exact same when the final horn rang.
With the Lakers extremely shorthanded by the end of the contest, Reddish would play 30 minutes on the night and find himself on the court when it mattered most. While his stat line didn’t stand out with seven points and four rebounds, he still made a positive impact for the Lakers on both ends of the court.
Reddish was clearly disappointed that his open corner 3-pointer didn’t fall and the Lakers took their second straight loss. But LeBron’s message to the young wing was one that would hopefully instill more confidence in Reddish moving forward, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“Just be ready again. Because there will be many more opportunities, especially from me. I know I’m gonna see two defenders late in games so just be ready.”
LeBron will indeed always see a crowd when attacking the basket so those opportunities will be there for Reddish if he is on the court. The Lakers superstar has always made the right play down the stretch so if Reddish is open again in the same situation, James will get the ball to him.
Likewise, head coach Darvin Ham had nothing but praise for Reddish in taking that shot as it is one that he works on regularly. The Lakers coach also praised Reddish for his performance in the game overall, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“The fact that he takes that shot with confidence, we’ll live with the results. LeBron did his job, got a play going with his right hand going downhill, he drew a crowd, collapsed the defense. Cam wide open, he had an awesome look and we encourage him.
“He works on that shot every day, so we encourage him to be there to make that shot, to take that shot at least. And we’re not in that game, it’s not that close of a game without Cam Reddish’s contributions on the defensive end and some of the things he did offensively. He was spectacular tonight.”
Even though the result was a disappointment, it has to mean a lot for Reddish to still have the backing of his teammates and coach. They want him to keep putting in that work because there will be a time when the Lakers need him to make that shot again and he will need to be ready and confident when the ball finds him.
Cam Reddish says D’Angelo Russell has been his mentor on the Lakers
Reddish came to the Lakers looking to kickstart his career that has been up-and-down so far since being drafted in 2019. The Lakers have embraced him and the wing says that it has actually been point guard D’Angelo Russell who has been something of a mentor since he’s arrived.
“I would say DLo. I’m locker-mates with DLo, so we talk all the time,” Reddish said. “We talk about the game, the ways to score. Ways to get involved. Impact the game any way possible. So, I would say DLo for the most part.”
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