There are eight games left in the 2024-25 NBA regular season for the Los Angeles Lakers. The race towards the finish line is going to involve some serious obstacles.
The Lakers have the second toughest remaining strength of schedule in the league for this key stretch left in this year's campaign. The opponents for these last eight games have a cumulative winning percentage of .593. This slate of matchups includes two fixtures each against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. The Lakers will also face the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks.
With standings such an important part of the equation at this point, it is necessary to be optimizing the players who will be on the court for the Lakers in these big moments. There is one key figure who has made the case for seeing extended minutes in the rotation for Los Angeles.
Jaxson Hayes should be leaned on amid playoff push
Jaxson Hayes has proven himself capable of holding down the fort for an otherwise lackluster frontcourt situation in Los Angeles. The Lakers big man is enjoying a healthy bump to his production since the team has leaned on him more following Anthony Davis being shipped out of town and Mark Williams never arriving.
Hayes is averaging 9.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.0 block per game, while shooting 78.6 percent from the field, in 22.9 minutes per game since the debut of Luka Doncic. The former top 10 pick has played his role as a lob threat and rim runner flawlessly on offense, while remaining active on the defensive end.
There is an interesting trend emerging from this same sample size that makes the case for Hayes to be consistently hitting above a certain number of minutes for the Lakers.
Since Feb. 10 (Doncic's aforementioned debut), the Lakers are 14-6 in the games where their athletic big man has played. They went 0-4 without Hayes in the lineup.
Playing at least 20 minutes per game has proven to be the formula for success with managing the on-court time of their big man during that span. The Lakers are 11-2 when Hayes plays at least 20 minutes in a game. They are 3-4 when the former Texas star plays less than that.
There is no trend suggesting overplaying Hayes would be a huge concern either. The Lakers are 6-2 when the high-flying center registers over 25 minutes in a game during that same stretch.
Figuring out how often the Lakers will turn to small ball will be an important task for JJ Redick and his staff. However, there should be no doubt that Hayes can handle a strong bulk of minutes for the Lakers as they wrap up their 2024-25 regular season.
