Max Christie reclined in his locker while a recent Grizzlies game played on the Lakers’ locker-room television. He looked relaxed and ready to go.
However, he was, in fact, sick.
“I sound kinda crazy,” he said with his sinuses turning him into an extended relative of Kermit the Frog.
Hours later, he’d walk back into that same locker room with a big smile, convinced he usually plays better when he’s under the weather. More importantly, he returned to his locker armed with another piece of evidence that he is where he belongs, the Lakers’ long-term project starting to pay off.
Sunday in the Lakers’ 116-110 win against Memphis, Christie became the latest player to move into the team’s starting lineup — a search that began last season under Darvin Ham and that’s continued this year with JJ Redick. Against the Grizzlies, Christie scored only seven points and attempted just three shots, but he largely stayed in front of Memphis All-Star Ja Morant, frustrating him into a six-for-21 shooting night and seven turnovers.
It was Morant’s second-worst shooting game of the season, most of it coming with Christie’s chest in front of him.
“He was great,” said LeBron James of Christie.
With James back after his week away from the team while resting his injured left foot, Redick had another chance to tinker with the Lakers’ starting five. After beginning the season defiantly defending a James-Anthony Davis-Rui Hachimura-Austin Reaves-D’Angelo Russell starting group, Redick moved Russell to the bench after nine games for Cam Reddish. Needing more offense, Redick replaced Reddish with rookie Dalton Knecht, but his shooting has fizzled over the last month.
Gabe Vincent, who started the last three games while the Lakers were still dealing with injures — first to Reaves and then to James — was a real option to stay in the first five before the coaches landed on Christie.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Redick said. “And we really feel like as a staff Gabe has been fantastic the last couple weeks, particularly the defensive end with his physicality and on-ball stuff. And he’s also had some good offensive games as well. I think the size and just the athleticism, and the fact that Max has a really good feel for the game and he can move, was important.”
Christie, who turns 22 in February, re-signed with the Lakers this summer for four years and $32 million, an investment that raised some eyebrows around the league after two uneven seasons to start his career.
But the Lakers and top basketball executive Rob Pelinka believed Christie’s athleticism, his emotional intelligence and his two-way potential were strong enough that he merited the payday and a season-opening spot in the team’s rotation.
Christie, though, struggled badly to start the season and fell out of Redick’s rotation, relegated to late-game mop-up duty in wins over Philadelphia and Toronto before a DNP on Nov. 13 against Memphis.
Injuries, though, opened the door for Christie shortly after that and he’s been a more consistent presence since then.
“I think just being in the fire, to be honest, is how I’ve grown,” Christie said Sunday. “I think in previous years, I haven’t been in a lot of high-pressure, high-stakes situations. This year, I’ve had a few of those and OKC, I obviously made a big mistake in that one.”
Lakers guard Max Christie, left, tries to cut off a drive by Suns guard Devin Booker during a game last month.
(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
That mistake — an intentional foul the Lakers didn’t have to give — was crucial and helped cost them a win against the Thunder that could’ve helped snap the Lakers’ out of a funk that lingered until Sunday.
Yet that’s not how it happened. Instead, the mistake simply meant Christie would have to get better next time.
With the Lakers in Atlanta, it was Christie again on an island at the end of regulation, this time with Hawks All-Star guard Trae Young in front of him. With the clock winding down in a tie game, Christie blocked Young’s potential game-winner, sending the game into overtime.
Sunday against Morant in his first game as a starter alongside Davis, James, Hachimura and Reaves, Christie’s athleticism was constantly on display. He quickly moved his feet to keep one of the NBA’s most dynamic guards from getting to the paint. He challenged Morant’s shots at the point of release, Christie jumping with one of the NBA’s best leapers.
It was as much of an impact as a player can make without touching the ball.
“My mind was just focused on trying to make it as tough as I could for him,” Christie said. “He’s a really dynamic player. He’s a really good player. So I want to just do as good of a job as I can, just making it tough for him. And I thought I did a decent job of that tonight.”
As the Lakers move into trade season, teams likely will press the Lakers for Christie’s availability. He’s one of the Lakers’ few young players with trade value. Yet a cleaner pathway for the team’s growth might be counting on Christie to continue his improvement, the two-way wing the Lakers desperately need maybe already in their locker room.
“Just in terms of his long-term outlook and his growth, I think these opportunities are great for him,” Redick said. “I’ll reference the Oklahoma City game where he made a mistake at the end and we play a week later in Atlanta and he’s in sort of the same situation at the end of regulation and he gets a block on Trae Young. With young guys these opportunities are great for them to grow not only confidence but also just the learned experience of our knowledge of being in different situations.”
With Christie, you never have to doubt his understanding of the situation, a mature person despite being one of the youngest players on the roster. He’s been patient with himself. And it’s paying off.
“It feels good and it’s pretty cool just to see the progression and the growth in terms of just me over the last three years, to be honest. And I think I think I’ve slowly gotten a little bit better,” Christie said. “I’ve been put in more tense situations, more important situations. And I think these are good experiences for me, guarding a dynamic part, like Ja, being in at the end of the game. And I think it’s cool for me just to reflect on the growth that I’ve had.
“And then I want to keep that going.”