Photo by Kelsey Grant/Getty Images
JJ Redick, Los Angeles Lakers
Maxi Kleber is a forgotten member of the Los Angeles Lakers roster. He was injured when he joined the franchise as part of the deal that acquired Luka Doncic earlier this year.
Kleber has played in three games for the Lakers, with the most recent coming against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, Nov. 15. Despite his limited playing time, his production in Los Angeles’ latest win earned praise from head coach JJ Redick.
“Maxi Kleber has not been in the rotation all season,” Redick said during his postgame news conference. “He’s played in a couple of blowouts and knew he was going to be part of the rotation tonight. He made one basket, but had a huge impact on the game with his physicality, his talk, and just what I would describe as what we want the Lakers’ spirit to be— just being a great teammate. The defense, the rebounding, all the stuff that are winning basketball plays. He was a big part of that tonight.”
The box score doesn’t do Kleber’s production any justice, as he ended the night with three points, three assists and one rebound in 25 minutes of playing time. However, his presence was a key reason why the Lakers secured their second straight win.
Redick Explains What Brings The Best Out Of Ayton
During the same news conference, Redick detailed how the Lakers are getting the best out of Deandre Ayton. The big man joined the franchise during the summer, after having his contract bought out by the Portland Trail Blazers.
“He is the DeAndre that the team needs him to be,” Redick said. “To me, he feeds off of the group’s energy, and he feeds off of empowerment and encouragement and positive reinforcement. And it took, you know, eight to ten days to figure that out in the preseason. And once we did, you know, it’s been really awesome to watch him grow with this group and be fully engaged and be a part of this group.”
Ayton has played 13 games for the Lakers so far this season. He’s averaging 16.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, shooting 69.2% from the field. The former first-overall draft pick is emerging as a key piece in the Lakers’ rotation and proving he can be a viable asset at the NBA level.
Austin Reaves Happy With Lakers Road Trip
The win over Milwaukee ended a gruelling road trip for the Lakers. Redick’s team secured three wins in five, including back-to-back victories over the New Orleans Pelicans and the Bucks.
When speaking to the media after the game, Austin Reaves explained why he’s content with his team’s performances throughout the five-game span.
“To go 3-2 on a trip like this early in the year, you know, it’s good,” Reaves said. “Obviously, you wish you’d just played a little better in Atlanta and OKC, but it’s the league and you’re going to have nights like that.”
He continued.
“You had to learn to move on. We had a good win last night and then turned the page and got here and played a really, really good first half; it was a really good full game. We had a couple of stretches there in the third quarter that weren’t great, but that’s a good team with some really good players. It’s good to be 3-2 on this trip.”
The Lakers have a few days off now and will be back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 18, when they face the Utah Jazz back at the Crypto.com Arena.
Adam Taylor is a basketball reporter covering the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Miami Heat for Heavy. He holds bylines for CelticsBlog, USA Today and Yardbarker. Adam also covers the WWE and AEW. He has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing from Open University. More about Adam Taylor
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