JJ Redick Has Full Confidence in Jaxson Hayes to Hold Down the Center Spot

The Los Angeles Lakers lost 120-113 to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night, but they may have found something more important than a win in the process.

Starting center Deandre Ayton lasted just five minutes before leaving with left knee soreness and never returning, which forced head coach JJ Redick to lean on backup big man Jaxson Hayes for the rest of the game.

Hayes answered the call in a big way, scoring a season-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes of action.

After the game, Redick did not hold back when asked about his confidence in Hayes moving forward.

"Very confident. I thought he was terrific tonight. He played basically 28 minutes and that was a lot for him. I think not having Maxi tonight actually really hurt us, particularly with DA out. But Jaxson, I definitely have confidence in him," Redick said.

This is not the first time Hayes has stepped up when the Lakers have needed him, and the numbers suggest he has been the better option at center for a while now.

Since early January, Hayes has posted a team-high plus-31 plus-minus, while Ayton has been sitting at minus-20 during that same stretch, which is the second-worst mark on the roster.

Over the full season, that gap is even wider, with Hayes holding a plus-45 and Ayton sitting at minus-65.

Hayes is averaging 6.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 17.3 minutes per game this season while shooting 77.0 percent from the field, and those numbers look even better when you consider he has done all of that in a limited role off the bench.

Ayton has the better traditional stat line at 12.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, but his effort and intensity have been inconsistent for weeks, and his attitude about his role has become a growing concern for the Lakers.

The former No. 1 overall pick got off to a strong start this season, but his play has dropped off significantly since then.

Ayton has been vocal about his frustrations with the way the Lakers have used him, and his now-famous comment about not wanting to be Clint Capela rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

The Lakers do not need Ayton to be a star, but they do need him to set screens, roll to the rim, catch lobs, and protect the paint so that Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves can do their thing.

Hayes has no problem doing exactly that, and his willingness to embrace that role is a big reason why the team looks so much better with him on the floor.

Against Denver, the Lakers were outscored by 13 points in the four minutes Ayton played, but they actually outscored the Nuggets by seven with Hayes in the game.

That kind of impact does not show up in a traditional box score, but it tells you everything you need to know about which center fits this team better right now.

The Lakers sit at 37-25 on the season and are sixth in the Western Conference, just a game and a half behind the Nuggets for the fifth spot.

There is no clear timeline for Ayton's return, and this knee issue adds to a history of knee problems that have followed him throughout his career.

If Hayes continues to produce the way he did Thursday night, it could make Ayton's path back into the starting lineup a lot more complicated even after he gets healthy.

The Lakers have a homestand coming up starting Friday against the Indiana Pacers, and every game from here on out feels like a must-win with how tight the Western Conference standings are.

Redick has already been closing games with Hayes over Ayton in recent weeks, and this injury might just be the push the coaching staff needed to make the switch permanent.

Hayes himself seems ready for whatever comes next, telling reporters after the Denver loss that he welcomes the competition and the challenge of fighting for the starting spot.

For a player making just $3.45 million this season, he is giving the Lakers exactly what they need at a fraction of the cost, and that kind of value is hard to ignore down the stretch of a playoff race.