The Lakers had lots of praise for Max Christie after performance vs. Spurs

Max Christie went from being the first off the bench to multiple games with no playing time, but on Friday, he played and stepped up big to help the Lakers beat the Spurs in NBA Cup group play.

When the year began, Max Christie's stock was at an all-time high. He signed a four-year, $32 million deal in the summer, stood out during training camp and was the first player off the bench during the first regular-season games.

However, his performance was unimpressive in these early matchups and five games into the season, Max was taken out of the rotation. He only played in garbage time during the Lakers’ recent homestand.

With Los Angeles beginning back-to-back games on the road and Rui Hachimura being ruled out with an ankle sprain, head coach JJ Redick indicated that Christie would be back in the rotation for Friday’s matchup against the Spurs.

Christie took advantage of the opportunity and played his best game of the season.

He ended the night playing 30 minutes, scoring 11 points on 4-7 shooting, grabbing three rebounds and having a plus-minus of +23, the highest on the team.

Christie’s impact was palpable on both sides of the ball. He scored five straight points to help Los Angeles begin the second quarter on an 11-2 run and took on every defensive challenge, including, at times, guarding Victor Wembanyama.

Given Christie's height and weight disadvantage when defending Wemby, it was impressive that he was an irritant for the Spurs star. He got the better of him several times, including in the fourth quarter when he stole a pass intended for Wembanyama, resulting in a Gabe Vincent three.

After the game, JJ Redick spoke about how Christie helped the Lakers begin their NBA Cup title defense with a win.

“Really happy for Max,” Redick said postgame. “We’ve had two situations over the last week where a guy has been out of the rotation and then gotten back into the rotation…For Max to not be in the rotation for three games, to have the night he had, I’m just happy for him. It’s obvious to me, as his coach, that’s he capable of doing that every night because I’ve seen it for months.

“We’ve had a number of discussions. I told him, ‘If you play that way, because I’ve seen you do it, I don’t want to take you off the court.’ The way that he fronted Wembanyama…just completely disrupted their half-court rhythm. He got a steal on one but I just thought the physicality, the intent to what his role is tonight was executed to perfection.”

It's always good to get admiration from your coach and as Redick has mentioned before, lineups and rotations will be fluid. Cam Reddish went from a bench player to the starter, Christie went from in the rotation to out and other changes will undoubtedly happen.

Players just need to stay ready and Christie did just that. When his number was called, he delivered. While having your minutes taken away can be rough, Christie is a pro and understands it’s not personal and Redick’s belief in him remains intact.

“I think he has a lot of belief in a lot of us,” Christie said postgame. “I think he definitely has a lot of belief in me and I can appreciate that coming from a head coach. I know how I can play and I think tonight was a very good example of that when I’m just kind of out there playing free, playing the way I know I can play instead of just trying to overcomplicate things. It was fun, for sure. It felt really good to have that kind of game.”

If Hachimura is out for Saturday’s game, expect more minutes for Christie against the Pelicans. He’s certainly earned it and impacted winning on Friday.

Another solid performance from him could give Redick the good problem of figuring out how to play so many players who deserve minutes.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.