The Los Angeles Lakers’ bench is in a rut, to say the least. Monday night, as they went down 115-103 against the Detroit Pistons, Lakers fans were left wondering if their bench crew could score as much as a halftime hotdog vendor. In the midst of this bench drought, though, one unlikely hero emerged: Cam Reddish, who stepped into the game for just the second time this season, turning heads not with points, but with pure hustle and grit.
Reddish, signed on a modest two-year, $4.6 million contract (a figure that’s somehow both shockingly low and painfully high, depending on the game), managed to shine on a night when everything else for the Lakers seemed dim. He didn’t take a single shot, but his defensive energy, court coverage, and sheer willingness to get physical earned him the title of “only bright spot” from teammate Austin Reaves. When your best performer doesn’t score a point, it’s probably time to reevaluate things. Still, for Lakers fans, a +10 plus/minus in 14 minutes from Reddish was a rare bit of sunshine in what’s shaping up to be a cloudy November.
The Lakers bench, which seems to be having an allergic reaction to scoring, managed just 10 points in total, with contributions from Jaxson Hayes and Dalton Knecht (five points each) feeling like the basketball equivalent of a pity tip. Their collective average of 18.9 points per game from the bench this season ranks last in the NBA—a statistic that’s making Lakers head coach JJ Redick reach for his Advil bottle. Or maybe something stronger.
Meanwhile, Reaves took the opportunity to get real about the team’s struggles. “It’s not always rainbows and butterflies,” he said after Monday’s loss. Unfortunately, for the Lakers, that might be an understatement. After opening with three straight home wins, the team now sits at 4-3, seemingly exhausted as they slog through a road trip that feels longer than a DMV wait. Reaves himself had a rough night, scoring 17 points on a less-than-impressive 7-for-17 shooting, including just 3-for-10 from deep.
As the Lakers head into the next leg of their trip, they’ll need more than just a “major piece” in Reddish—they’ll need an entire squad ready to show up. And judging by their latest performance, the Lakers’ bench has some serious work to do if they’re planning to avoid becoming the NBA’s official “load management” squad.
Whether Reddish will continue to be the Lakers’ bench star or if the squad will find a way to actually contribute in the box score remains to be seen. But if the Lakers don’t figure things out soon, it could be a long season full of “almost-but-not-quite” wins and plenty of Reaves’ post-game motivational speeches.
