Lakers Rookie Cameron Carr Reveals His Mindset With Inconsistent Role This Season

Three weeks into the season, rookie guard Cameron Carr has already been through almost every type of night an NBA player can have, and the Los Angeles Lakers have asked him to stay ready for all of them.

Carr was inactive for the first six games, with an oblique injury keeping him out of the opener.

He made his debut on Nov. 1 and played four total minutes over his first three games, all at the end of games that were already decided, and then the Lakers sent him to the G League, where he had 13 points and four rebounds in the Coachella Valley Lakers' opener.

He did not get off the bench at Detroit on Nov. 8.

This week looked a lot different.

With shooting guards Austin Reaves and Quentin Grimes out in Atlanta on Monday, Carr played 7 minutes and 19 seconds and scored the first two points of his career, and two nights later in Milwaukee he played a career-high 13 minutes even though he went 0-for-3 from the field.

That leaves him with two points in 23 minutes over five games.

Before the Bucks game, Carr explained how he handles the ups and downs.

"Just being patient, man, just putting my head down, working every day, knowing that I can be the best person I can be," Carr told reporters in Milwaukee on Wednesday.

He admitted he still gets nervous every time he checks into a game, but he believes his confidence will grow the more he plays.

Head coach JJ Redick said defense is still where Carr can improve the most and that it is hard for young players to find a rhythm when their minutes come and go, so the staff has pushed him to make the most of stay-ready games against coaches and his time in the G League.

Back in September, Redick talked about Carr having chances to earn a role, and Carr has said from the start that he is ready to do whatever the team needs.

The Lakers traded for Carr after the New York Knicks picked him 24th overall in June, sending the 25th pick, Sergio De Larrea, and cash to New York.

That was a real bet on him, and the team may need him sooner than it planned.

Reaves left Wednesday's win with a left heel injury, and the Lakers were still waiting on imaging results as of Friday morning.

Grimes has missed two straight games with a finger sprain, shooting guard Collin Sexton needed stitches after a head clash, and point guard Luka Doncic turned his right ankle late in the game.

All of them are day-to-day, which could open up guard minutes for the players who need to step up.

I like how Carr is handling this, because a rookie on an 11-2 team that sits first in the West is not going to get steady minutes, and the smart move is to get better on defense and be ready when his name is called again.

That chance could come Sunday at Phoenix, with the Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz coming to Los Angeles next week.