Is it time for the Lakers to bench Jaxson Hayes?

With his role decreasing throughout the playoffs, is it time for the Lakers to move Jaxson Hayes out of the starting lineup?

Coming into the playoffs, it felt like, on paper, Jaxson Hayes would have a role against the Wolves. With Rudy Gobert lining up across from him, it was easy to connect the dots as to why he could see time on the court.

Things have played out far differently, though. Head coach JJ Redick played Hayes just eight minutes in Game 1. Calls for him to increase Hayes’ minutes were met with lackluster performances from Hayes in his limited action in Games 2 and 3.

Now, with the Lakers trailing 2-1 in the series and Hayes being little more than a ceremonial starter, the questions are arising as to whether the Lakers should move him out of the starting lineup and end the formalities.

“We’ll look at everything,” Redick said after the Game 3 loss. “Still believe in Jaxson.”

On Friday, Hayes was limited to one shift to start each the first and third quarters before heading to the bench and not playing again the rest of the half. That’s been a familiar pattern throughout the series with Hayes impact diminishing each contest.

Perhaps working in Hayes’ favor for Game 4 is the quick turnaround. After playing Friday night, the Lakers and Wolves will meet again on Sunday afternoon. It’ll be a tough ask for both teams to go back at it so quickly and cutting down on the available players might only further exacerbate the problems.

However, the Lakers are also trailing 2-1 in the series. While Game 4 isn’t technically a must-win, the whole tenor of the series changes if the Lakers win the game instead of falling behind 3-1.

If Redick has a card to play, now’s the time to play it.

Dorian Finney-Smith has been the player to come in and play the big minutes off the bench in place of Hayes. In Game 2, he played 39 minutes and only first-half foul trouble limited his minute total in Game 3. It’s clear he would be the player inserted into the lineup as he’s part of Redick’s most trusted five-man lineup this series.

There is no center or big man on the roster to absorb Hayes’ minutes, but the strong game from Jordan Goodwin on Friday could offer a simple solution to where Hayes’ limited minutes go.

Similarly, Jarred Vanderbilt showed more flashes of impact in Game 3 than he had at really any point this series. While he’s a more chaotic option, he could still offer the Lakers a forward to play, which is about as much size as they can turn to on the bench.

Benching Hayes, though, likely doesn’t mean his nine minutes get allocated to a bench shift. It’s a shift to simply not playing him and re-allocating his minutes to someone who can stay on the floor.

The Lakers have an imperfect roster and no real options at center. While Hayes had a strong close to the regular season as a lob threat for Luka Dončić, the playoffs are about matchups and this is a bad one for Hayes. His limitations have been exploited and he’s been played off the floor while offering little reason with his own play to warrant being given a longer leash.

Game 4, then, should be the time to end the formalities, remove him from the starting lineup and get the best five on the floor from the start for the Lakers at a critical point in the season.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.