Cam Reddish and Christian Koloko Could Help Lakers’ Defensive Woes

Max Christie’s poor play and Anthony Davis’ injury may have opened the door for Lakers’ rookie head coach JJ Redick to make a pair of quick and dramatic changes to upgrade the defensive play of his 9-man rotation.

Coach Redick started the process of upgrading the defense of his 9-man rotation by inserting Cam Reddish to replace Max Christie, who started both season and game poorly after a new contract and raise offseason.
While L.A. still lost the game to Detroit, Reddish was the only Laker with a positive plus/minus and likely stole Christie’s backup shooting guard role and possibly re-opened a long shot opportunity to win a starting spot.

With Anthony Davis questionable due to a heel injury, it appears the Lakers are accelerating Christian Koloko’s opportunity to earn a rotation role as they’ve made him active for tonight’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
While Christian has not played in over a year, tonight will be his Lakers’ debut and it could not have come at a better time. After a great start, L.A.’s struggling and desperately in need of an injection of size and defense.

While replacing Christie and Hayes with Reddish and Koloko will help the Lakers defensively, there are still other key rotation moves to consider, including what to do about the situation with center Jaxson Hayes.
There’s also the dilemma of what to do about the D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves backcourt, which may work for the regular season but is likely to be an albatross for the Lakers once the NBA playoffs begin.

Gabe Vincent is still struggling mightily and Redick has already shown he’s not going to sit around and wait for players to start playing well. His move to replace Christie showed he’s not going to hesitate if changes are needed.
The Lakers may also have a quality replacement option for Gabe Vincent in Quincy Olivari. Considering how quickly Redick was in replacing Christie, Gabe Vincent should realize his rotation role is on the line right now.

Lakers ownership and front office needs to realize this Lakers roster is one of two quality rotation players from becoming a legitimate championship contender this season. Time to invest in Anthony Davis and LeBron James.