thelesterlee
Prior to this season, Cam Reddish’s best basketball was played in 2017 in a high school gym. He went to Duke alongside RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson where he was so clearly the worst player of the three.
Cam was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2019 and rode the bench for 2 and half years before he was traded to the Knicks to once again not be as good as RJ Barrett and once again ride the bench.
Reddish has shown flashes of what he’s capable of on a basketball court.
On opening night of the 2022-23 season, the Knicks lost 112-115 to the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime. Cam Reddish came off the bench to drop 22 points in 28 minutes with 5 rebounds, 3 steals and a block on 9-for-15 shooting (60%) and 3-for-6 from 3.
It was a coming-out party.
Reddish finally found himself in the NBA. Anddd then Tom Thibodeau slowly reduced his minutes every game until giving him DNPs because Cam gave himself the green light to take the worst shots and play no defense.
A Cam hive was born that year. Knicks fans were torn between people who value ‘pure hoopers’ that ballhog and chuck shots with 20 seconds left in the shot clock vs. people like myself, who value good basketball players.
See, blindly dribbling and shooting every time the ball touches your hands without even considering your teammates and then proceeding to allow every opposing ballhandler to drive directly past you with zero resistance is bad.
Those types of players do not win you games.
Fast forward to this season and the Lakers are now relying on Scam Reddish to become a major factor in their title quest. Bold fucking strategy.
Let’s look at how it went earlier this week. On Monday night, with 9 seconds left and the Lakers down 1 point, LeBron James made an interesting decision to give Cam Reddish the final shot. It didn’t go great.
Cam bricked the buzzer beater and finished with 7 points and -4 +/-.
With the Denver Nuggets looking the same well-oiled machine that just won the NBA Championship, Luka Doncic finally playing alongside guys who can actually dribble, pass and shoot, and the Minnesota Timberwolves on the edge of becoming a historically great defense—the Lakers big offseason move of signing Cam Reddish might not be enough to make waves in the West.
LeBron for sure made the correct decision swinging the ball to Reddish but unfortunately, it was Reddish who had established himself as one of the least consistent players in the NBA.
This is what the Lakers are built on.
A 60-year-old man who can’t stop telling everyone he’s the GOAT and refuses to retire until he sets every record like Jerry Rice.
Anthony Davis who was supposed to be MVP talks with fellow big men, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid but instead plays like he cannot wait to clock out of work and get home.
And Austin Reeves who is a generic microwave scorer off the bench that gets treated like he belongs on the NBA 75 list because he looks like all of the NBA podcasters who talk about him.
Oh and Cam Reddish who frequently looks overwhelmed by the moment. Regardless of the moment.
Being a LeBron James teammate comes with national scrutiny. Every single thing you do out there is under a microscope. The attention has broken people in the past. Kevin Love literally broke down and had a panic attack in the middle of a Cavaliers team meeting.
However, LeBron has also gotten a lot of cats fed by association. Kyrie Irving was a perennial loser before he and LeBron went back-to-back and beat the Golden State Warriors 2-on-15. Shane Battier, Mike Miller and Kyle Korver got DOLLARS and rings thanks to LeBron. Shit, Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson have a media career thanks to their proximity to that man.
Will LeBron James save or kill Cam Reddish?
On Friday night, Reddish had an opportunity to right his wrongs. With a little over a minute to go in the 4th quarter and the Lakers up 115-113 to the Phoenix Suns in the NBA In-Season tournament, LeBron found Cam for another open look.
Nailed it. The Lakers won.
Here’s what LeBron said about Reddish after the game:
“To all the naysayers and basketball savants that don’t know nothing about basketball and telling me I should’ve shot that shot in Miami instead of passing to Cam Reddish, well I did the same thing tonight because I trust my teammates. I make the right play every single time. And the game ball goes to Cam Reddish for sure.”
Reddish finished the game with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists on 50% shooting and was a +7.
This LeBron James Cam Reddish partnership might actually work. Reddish is the perfect castmate for this season of the LeBron show. He is too overly confident to ever have his self-esteem shattered by Bron/Lakers fans and I think he understands this is his opportunity to ball his heart out and get that BAG in the offseason.
LeBron is about to save a player who was like, 5 months away from playing in Tel Aviv. If the Lakers win a title with Cam fucking Reddish, we have no choice but to call LeBron the GOAT.
Is this LeBron James Cam Reddish 1-2 punch capable of winning it all? Leave a comment below. Respond on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Or shoot me an email at Deadseriousmailbag@gmail.com. Let’s chat, bay-beeeee. Let me know if you like Cam Reddish’s game so I can teach you about basketball.
