Why Max Christie, Dorian Finney-Smith pairing bodes well for Lakers' defense

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LOS ANGELES – Since Max Christie was moved into the Los Angeles Lakers' starting lineup, he's drawn some of the toughest defensive assignments in the league. Last month, he found himself matched up against Ja Morant, Trae Young, Cade Cunningham and ultimately Stephen Curry. Albeit the tough matchups, he's proven himself as one of the team's most reliable defensive players. And now, with the addition of Dorian Finney-Smith via trade with the Brooklyn Nets, the Lakers have an intriguing wing pairing on the defensive end.

Guarding some of the best offensive players in the league has been how Finney-Smith has earned his money. The Lakers now have two players on the roster they can feel comfortable with chasing around the NBA's premier scoring threats.

In Dorian Finney-Smith's second game with the Lakers, on Jan. 2 against the Portland Trail Blazers, he was in with the starters late in the fourth quarter alongside Max Christie on the wing. The following night against the Atlanta Hawks, he was in with the starters once again forming a defensive pairing with Christie.

The Lakers managed to close out both of those games, and did so on the defensive end. Following the Lakers' win against the Hawks, Finney-Smith spoke about just trying to match Christie's energy, and how he's been in the young guard's ear since joining the team.

"Since I've been here, Max has been terrific on the defensive end bringing a lot of energy. So when I come in, I try to match his energy. I told him, I've been in his shoes before," Finney-Smith said. "Especially sometimes, you play defense all day and you might not get a shot. A lot of people don't keep that intensity when they ain't getting the ball. I just try to preach it to him that I've been there before. That's what's made me valuable in this league."

For a team looking to improve on the defensive end, Finney-Smith certainly gives the Lakers another look especially when paired up with Christie.

Defensive wings key to Lakers' success

When the Lakers won the 2020 NBA title, they had a pair of tough defensive-minded wings in the starting lineup in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green. But since trading both players in the subsequent years, they've been unable to replicate that type of defensive intensity.

But if the closing lineup against the Blazers and Hawks is any indication, the Lakers might be inching closer to reaching that type of wing defense that's eluded them since then.

Finney-Smith's calling card since he's been in the NBA has been defense, and Christie is developing into one of the better wing defenders in the league. In fact, after Christie dropped a career-high 28 points against the Blazers last week, Lakers' head coach JJ Redick said he felt the catalyst for that big game started on defense.

"I didn't think his first run was good in terms of his defensive disposition," Redick said. "I thought his career night started with changing the disposition on defense."

While it's a small sample size in terms of how Max Christie and Dorian Finney-Smith will hold up defensively for the rest of the season, the initial results are encouraging for the Lakers.

"Doe is a great defender. He's got a lot of size, he's a big wing for sure. I think for us as a team, that addition definitely helps us," Christie said. "I think that pairing at the end of the game was great. I thought we did a good job kind of holding them, holding their points, trying to make sure they weren't scoring too much at the end of the last two minutes. I thought me and Doe did a good job of that. I thought we did a good job rebounding the ball at the end too."

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