When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for the 35th pick in last month’s NBA draft, then used it on Michigan State University’s Max Christie, some fans envisioned him becoming the type of 3-and-D wing the team badly needs.
He is underdeveloped at 19 years of age, especially when it comes to his outside shooting.
Summer League has shown no indication that Christie is making any progress in that department. In the three games that took place in the California Classic, he went 1-of-7 from 3-point range and 6-of-24 overall from the field.
On Friday versus the Phoenix Suns, the 6-foot-4 guard was 1-of-6 overall and 0-of-2 from downtown.
But there are a few positives he has shown that bode well for his potential as an NBA player.
Defense
Christie has a 6-foot-9 wingspan, which allows him to cover ground and challenge shot attempts taken by his opponents.
He has shown solid effort on the defensive end in terms of contesting shots and staying with his man throughout a possession.
He may not be the type of player who will get plenty of steals and blocks, but if he consistently hustles and makes the extra effort to challenge shots and rotate over to the open man, he can endear himself to new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.
Rebounding
Christie has done a good job of not only using his length to get to rebounds but also of making the effort to grab some boards that he otherwise may have not gotten.
The sign of a true rebounder comes when one makes the extra effort to box out, put his body on a defender and fight for rebounds that don’t carom to his vicinity, instead of relying on his physical gifts to get them.
Christie had nine rebounds in his California Classic debut, six in his second contest, eight in his third game and another eight boards on Friday.
Not too shabby for a 6-foot-4 man.
Free throw shooting
Christie hasn’t been able to shoot straight, but when he has gotten to the charity stripe, he has been pretty reliable.
He went 2-of-2 in the Lakers’ second game against the Golden State Warriors and 3-of-5 from there in their third game versus the Sacramento Kings.
On Friday, Christie managed to get to the line for eight free throw attempts, making seven of them.
How well a player shoots from the charity stripe can sometimes be an indicator of his potential as an outside shooter.
Perhaps if Christie improves his strength and conditioning while working on his outside shot, he can at least become an average shooter by NBA standards.
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