The Los Angeles Lakers opened their preseason slate on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and no one in the game logged more playing time than Lakers guard Max Christie.
In 34 minutes, he stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
Lakers head coach J.J. Redick had good things to say about Christie after the game.
“Max is an old soul,” Redick said. “He’s wise and he’s mature. He takes this very seriously, and I really appreciate that about him. So it’s not a surprise to me that in a game like this, he plays a lot of minutes, he doesn’t hang his head and he just keeps competing. He’s gonna be very valuable for us this year.
“You look at your team, and in games like this, you see a guy like him, or a guy like Austin [Reaves], just their level of compete at all times. I’ve seen it in practice, workouts, for the last two months, and it’s always there. I just appreciate that about Max.”
Christie was a restricted free agent this offseason before he signed a four-year, $32 million contract to return to the Lakers.
The deal apparently caught some people around the NBA off guard, but the Lakers reportedly intend to play Christie “a lot” going forward, so they clearly have faith in him.
The 21-year-old’s first two NBA seasons came under former Lakers head coach Darvin Ham. In his rookie season, he averaged 12.5 minutes per game across 41 appearances, and in his sophomore season, he averaged 14.1 minutes per game across 67 appearances.
The way Christie was previously utilized was reportedly a point of contention within the Lakers. If the guard gets a bigger role this season and beyond, he may be able to really get his footing in the NBA.
So far in his career, Christie has averaged 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game on 42.4 percent shooting from the field and 37.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Since the Lakers didn’t make any major roster additions this offseason, they’re going to need to rely on internal improvement — something Redick may be able to help with — in order to take the next step. Christie seems like a good candidate to be part of that internal improvement, especially if he gets more playing time.
Redick’s comments on the youngster are encouraging, and it will be exciting to see what the future has in store for Christie as he enters his third professional season.
