Lakers’ Cam Reddish injury could allow LeBron James to play ‘prominent’ role against Mavericks

Cam Reddish has been one of the surprise players early in the season. After signing a two-year minimum contract with the Los Angeles Lakers at the start of free agency, the former lottery pick has emerged as a defensive ace and ever-reliable 3-point shooter while forcing his way into Davon Han Tom’s starting lineup.

However, Reddish’s career-changing season hit a snag on Tuesday when he left Tuesday’s in-season championship game against the Utah Jazz early with a groin injury and did not return. After the game, Ham said the Lakers were unsure of Reddish’s status for the second half of a back-to-back against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. But if he can’t hold his own against the likes of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and others, Ham plans to give backup guard Max Christie a “very prominent” role, played by The Athletic’s Jovan Buha.

If Reddish is unable to play against the Mavericks due to a groin injury, Christie is expected to start on the wing alongside Taurean Prince. Los Angeles is always looking for tenacious on-ball defense, and few teams can put pressure on their opponents with multiple star playmakers like Doncic and Irving, who have led the team to success just a month or so into the regular season. The second best offense in basketball.

In his second season after leaving UCLA, Christie played 25 minutes against the Jazz while replacing Reddish and played a lot of garbage time, finishing with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block, and made 3 of 8 shots from the field. He missed all but one of his five three-point attempts. He has stayed healthy for a few games in the 2023-24 season, averaging 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds in 12.6 minutes off the bench.

The Lakers won 9-6 and the Mavericks won 9-5, tipping off at 7:30 pm (PT) from Crypto.com Arena.