Lakers trust Jaxson Hayes to step up against Knicks with Deandre Ayton’s status day to day

This isn’t new for Jaxson Hayes.

It was just last year when Hayes, now the Lakers’ backup center, was the team’s full-time starting big man after the franchise traded Anthony Davis to the Mavericks for current franchise centerpiece Luka Doncic. 

And with the trade for Mark Williams that was rescinded, Hayes received the most significant playing time for the best team he had been on up to that point of his career.

He delivered for the most part. 

Which is why, along with his improvements from the end of last season through three-fourths of this season, the Lakers have confidence in him if they need to rely on him more in light of starting center Deandre Ayton being day to day with left knee soreness. 

“Jaxson’s had a really good season,” coach JJ Redick said. “And I know (this because) I played with him his first two years — he’s a better basketball player. He’s gotten better. He’s making touch shots around the rim. He’s making great pocket decisions. 

“He’s a good basketball player. He consistently injects energy into the group when he runs the floor, blocks a shot or he gets those dunks.”

Ayton’s status for Sunday’s home game against the Knicks wasn’t known as of Saturday afternoon.

The 7-foot Ayton, who has started in all 54 games he’s played this season, sat out of Friday’s home win over the Pacers after being limited to 4 ½ minutes in Thursday’s road loss to the Nuggets.

But if Hayes, 25, needs to play more against the Knicks, like he did against the Nuggets or Pacers, the Lakers know he’ll be up to the task.

“We have the utmost confidence in Jaxson,” LeBron James said. 

Hayes had 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and five rebounds in 27 minutes against the Nuggets. He finished with nine points and four rebounds in 25 minutes against the Pacers. 

When asked to play more minutes as a starter, he’s stepped up, with averages of 11.4 points (81.6% shooting), 4.5 rebounds and two assists in the eight games he’s started, with the Lakers going 6-2 in those games.

“That’s my job,” Hayes said. “That’s what they pay me to do is stay ready. Even if I wasn’t in the rotation, they pay me to stay ready. That’s all NBA players’ job is just stay ready and get better every day. I’m gonna just do whatever the team needs me to do.”

Ayton, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, is considered a more talented player than Hayes. And there are several areas — such as 1-on-1 scoring, midrange shooting and defensive rebounding — that Ayton is better at than Hayes.

But there are some areas in which Hayes excels, making him more equipped to help the Lakers against a Knicks team that’s won 16 of its last 21 games.

Hayes has been just as good, if not better, as an interior defender over the course of the season. 

He’s a more forceful roller out of the pick and roll, which will be especially important Sunday if the Knicks hedge and recover on pick and rolls with Doncic as the ball handler like they did significantly in the Feb. 1 matchup at Madison Square Garden, which the Knicks won 112-100.

Hard rolls from an athletic center who can provide vertical spacing opens up lob opportunities, which Doncic is one of the best at delivering.

“Him and Luka have a really good connection right now,” Luke Kennard said. “They’re playing really well and playing off each other.”

Factor in Hayes’ improved playmaking out of the short roll and the Knicks will have to ensure they don’t give Hayes too much of a runway while also trying to contain Doncic. 

“I love playing with Jaxson,” Doncic said. “This year, his improvement is unbelievable. He understands, I think this year even more, how to play with me. We’ve been working on that. So playing with him is very special for me.”

Hayes arguably had a career year last season.

And he’s following it up with another one. 

“Maturity, the way he approaches the game day to day,” Austin Reaves said in the ways Hayes has grown the most. “He does what he needs to do in his off time around the gym, gets his work in, takes care of his body and then just the preparation that he puts into it, you can tell he’s grown in those aspects, and that’s just made him a better player. 

“We can probably all agree that this is some of the best basketball he’s played in his career. I’m happy for him. We need him to continue to do that. He’s a big part of what we’re going to do.”

---

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters