The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a brutal stretch, scheduled to play five games in seven days. Furthermore, injuries have taken a toll as of late.
Following Thursday's loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Los Angeles faced the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday, looking to avoid their fifth loss in the last six games.
Missing three starters (Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton), the Lakers got off on the wrong foot, getting outscored 40-27 in the first quarter.
Despite playing without Deni Avdija, Portland remained in control, leading through 88% of the game and cruising to a 16-point victory.
However, despite the loss, the Lakers saw encouraging play from a few of their bench players, most notably Drew Timme.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Timme entered the rotation and played big minutes, coming off the bench to play 29, the second most of any Laker. In those extended minutes, Timme dominated, scoring a career-high 21 points on an incredibly efficient 9-for-12 shooting including 3-for-4 from three-point range. He also recorded two rebounds, four assists and two steals. His 21 points were the second highest on the team, as Marcus Smart led Los Angeles with 25, his second highest output of the season.
Prior to Saturday's game, Timme had played just 16 minutes for the Lakers all season, playing fewer than five minutes in five of his six games played.
In nine games with the Nets last year, Timme impressed, scoring 12.1 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
Clearly capable of producing at the NBA level, perhaps Timme will find favor with head coach JJ Redick and continue to carve out a significant bench role.
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