<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-growing-pains-truth-bomb-defense');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jaxson Hayes drops ‘growing pains’ truth bomb on Lakers’ defense');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_0365.jpeg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Jaxson Hayes drops ‘growing pains’ truth bomb on Lakers’ defense</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-30T19:59:19-08:00">November 30th, 7:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-30T19:59:19-08:00">November 30th, 7:59pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the best offensive teams in the NBA this season <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-deandre-ayton-take-la-start">amid their 14-4 start</a>. But when it comes to the Lakers’ defense, that’s been a slightly different story. The teams has a few good individual defensive players, but most on the team believe the defense can improve. Lakers reserve center Jaxson Hayes is one player in particular who has made an impact on defense this season.</p><p>Following the Lakers’ win against the LA Clippers last Tuesday, Jaxson Hayes spoke about where the team’s defense stands in the early goings of the regular season.</p><p>“I feel like there’s always room for improvement. Right now everyone is just flying around making plays and just trying to cover for each other. And it’s like we have our nights of good defense and we have our nights where we have lapses,” Hayes said. “But I feel like it’s all part of the growing pains of the season. I feel like we’re just trying to get better and get more connected.”</p><p>With the quarter mark of the regular season approaching, the Lakers are sixth in the NBA in offensive rating at 119.4, as per Basketball Reference. But they are just 16th in the league in defensive rating at 115.5.</p><p>The stats also back up Hayes’ place as one of the better defenders on the team as he is in the top half of the roster <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/lakers-players-defensive-rating-this-season" rel="noopener">in defensive rating</a> at 115.6 in terms of the players in the regular rotation, as per StatMuse.</p><p>However, Lakers head coach JJ Redick cautioned against using defensive metrics such as rating when evaluating the team’s defense.</p><p>“I think our defense is better than whatever our defensive rating is,” Redick said prior to the Lakers’ win against the Mavericks on Friday. “There’s some positive things that we’ve done this year. . .when you have a couple of outliers of games, it’s not always going to be reflected through your overall defensive rating. But that typically evens out over a longer season. I know that we’re trending in the right way defensively.”</p><p>For Hayes in particular, his role has remained the same whether he’s starting or coming off the bench. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-la-bench-energy-change-game">Hayes’ job is bring energy and intensity</a> especially on the defensive end. Through the first 18 games of the season, 2.8 of Hayes’ rebounding average of 3.9 is on the defensive end.</p><p>Hayes is in his third season with the Lakers after re-signing in the offseason on a one-year contract.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jaxson Hayes drops ‘growing pains’ truth bomb on Lakers’ defense

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jj-redick-jaxson-hayes-reason-defend-luka-doncic-kris-dunn');   ga('set', 'title', 'JJ Redick, Jaxson Hayes explain reason behind defending Luka Doncic against Kris Dunn');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Luka-Doncic-heated-moment-led-to-Kris-Dunn-ejection.jpg"><figcaption>Nov 25, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) is defended by Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn (8) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>JJ Redick, Jaxson Hayes explain reason behind defending Luka Doncic against Kris Dunn</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-26T00:13:52-08:00">November 26th, 12:13am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-26T00:13:52-08:00">November 26th, 12:13am</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LOS ANGELES – During the fourth quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 135-118 NBA Cup win against the LA Clippers, things got a little heated between Luka Doncic and Kris Dunn. Amid the initial confrontation, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-reacts-jaxson-hayes-back-kris-dunn">Jaxson Hayes came to the defense of Doncic</a>, earning the Lakers’ big man a technical foul. Following the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick explained the togetherness the team has that makes each player want to stand up for their teammates.</p><p>“We highlight that stuff to our guys all the time, whether it’s celebrating the guy making a shot; we had a great clip from Milwaukee, Nick Smith makes a three and Maxi [Kleber] is celebrating on the court,” Redick said. “Our bench celebrations, a guy falls down. . .multiple guys running over to pick guys up. We’re not saying you have to do that, those are not requirements. But typically, guys show their cards, show their hands whether they like each other or not. Tonight as another example of that.”</p><p>The incident began when Luka Doncic was knocked to the floor jockeying for a rebound with Kris Dunn. Doncic came over and let Dunn know about it, and Dunn responded by slamming the ball in Doncic’s chest. That’s when Jaxson Hayes rushed over and gave Dunn a shove.</p><p>In the <a href="https://x.com/Dave_Yapkowitz/status/1993569514882244835" rel="noopener">aftermath of the review</a>, Hayes was given a single technical foul due to his shove. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-heated-moment-kris-dunn-ejection">Dunn was given two technical fouls</a>, the first stemming from him slamming the ball on Doncic, and the second coming when he shoved Hayes back. He was promptly ejected.</p><p>For Hayes, it was simply a case of letting his teammate know that he had his back.</p><p>“I just didn’t like the way he shoved Luka,” Hayes said. “I feel a lot of camaraderie with this team. I feel like we’re all very together and we’re all really close. We all want to protect each other.”</p><p>With the win, the Lakers clinched the top spot in the West Group B of the NBA Cup, and a spot in the quarterfinals which begin Dec. 9. The Lakers still have one more NBA Cup game remaining in group play on Friday at home against the Dallas Mavericks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

JJ Redick, Jaxson Hayes explain reason behind defending Luka Doncic against Kris Dunn

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-reacts-jaxson-hayes-back-kris-dunn');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers’ Luka Doncic reacts to Jaxson Hayes having his back against Kris Dunn');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Luka-Doncic-reacts-to-Jaxson-Hayes-having-his-back-against-Kris-Dunn.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers’ Luka Doncic reacts to Jaxson Hayes having his back against Kris Dunn</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-25T23:22:00-08:00">November 25th, 11:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-26T05:57:20-08:00">November 26th, 5:57am</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a>Paolo Mariano is a freelance writer, editor, and producer based in Manila, Philippines. He is a journalism graduate from the University of Santo Tomas and the father of a young girl whose personality swings from Simone Biles to Dillon Brooks. A beacon of objectivity, he believes Penny Hardaway is the true NBA GOAT.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Things got chippy between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter in the NBA Cup on Tuesday after Kris Dunn took a swing at Luka Doncic.</p><p>Fans at Crypto.com Arena erupted after Dunn’s act with 3:33 left in the closing frame. Doncic didn’t react to what happened, but <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-heated-moment-kris-dunn-ejection">Jaxson Hayes pushed Dunn</a>, who then retaliated with a shove. Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and the Lakers ran away with the win, 135-118.</p><p>After the game, Doncic was asked about Hayes <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersEmpire/status/1993572964923851172" rel="noopener">defending him during the altercation</a>. The five-time All-Star touted the Lakers’ camaraderie.</p><p>“Everybody got each other’s back, you know, so I appreciate him. I’ll pay his fine, for sure, but that shows what kind of team we are,” said the do-it-all guard in the video posted by Lakers Empire on X.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Luka on Jaxson Hayes having his back <a href="https://t.co/xDGR4PKuWY">pic.twitter.com/xDGR4PKuWY</a></p><p>— Lakers Empire (@LakersEmpire) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersEmpire/status/1993572964923851172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-30-points-1st-half-clippers-la-fans-buzzing">Doncic had another masterful performance</a> with a game-high 43 points, including 32 in the first half. He added nine rebounds, 13 assists, one steal, and one block.</p><p>Hayes contributed eight points, four rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block. He played heavy minutes, as the Purple and Gold were without Deandre Ayton due to a knee contusion.</p><p>The Lakers claimed their fifth straight win and improved to 13-4. They are at the top of West Group B in the NBA Cup at 3-0.</p><p>Fans have noticed the improvement in the chemistry of the Lakers in Doncic’s first full season with the squad. Coach JJ Redick has repeatedly stressed the importance of supporting each other, and it was definitely embodied by Hayes against the Clippers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Luka Doncic reacts to Jaxson Hayes having his back against Kris Dunn

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-forgotten-skill-bring-to-la');   ga('set', 'title', 'Jaxson Hayes’ forgotten skill he hopes to bring to Lakers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/IMG_0293.jpeg"><figcaption>Petre Thomas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Jaxson Hayes’ forgotten skill he hopes to bring to Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-06T20:58:58-08:00">November 6th, 8:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-06T20:58:58-08:00">November 6th, 8:58pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Lakers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>LOS ANGELES – During the Los Angeles Lakers’ 130-120 win against the Miami Heat last Sunday, Jaxson Hayes hit his first three-point shot of the season, off his only attempt thus far. Hayes was spotting up at the top of the arc when he caught a pass from Austin Reaves, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-la-bench-energy-change-game" rel="noopener">stepped into his shot</a> and calmly knocked it down.</p><p>Since joining the Lakers two seasons ago, Jaxson Hayes hasn’t been known as a three-point shooter. Since 2023, he’s taken only 12 attempts total, and prior to this season he was 0-of-11. But that hasn’t always been the case. Following the win against the Heat, Hayes was quick to point out that he used to shoot more three-pointers earlier in his NBA career, and that he would like to take more three-pointers with the Lakers.</p><p>“I’m really comfortable taking that shot. Back in New Orleans I played the four and we made the playoffs and I was shooting like two a game,” Hayes said. “That was a shot in rhythm. I work on that a lot so I just shot it.”</p><p>During the 2021-22 season with the New Orleans Pelicans, and Hayes’ third in the league, he took 57 three-point shots and converted on 20 of them, finishing at a 35.1 percent clip. That was the year the Pelicans made the playoffs with Hayes starting in all six postseason games.</p><p>The year before that, Hayes shot his best career percentage from the three-point line at 42.9 percent. He took only 14 three-point attempts that year and knocked down six of them. In 2022-23 Hayes would take 29 long-range attempts, converting on three of them.</p><p>But since Hayes has joined the Lakers, he’s been used primarily as a lob threat, especially with the arrival of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-luka-doncic-jaxson-hayes-growth">Luka Doncic whom he’s formed a solid pick and roll connection with</a>. But if the Heat game was any indication. Hayes is ready to knock down three-pointers as need be.</p><p>The Lakers have battled through injuries this season, and Hayes himself was sidelined briefly due to a knee injury. But he’s since returned to the lineup and has provided <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-la-bench-energy-change-game">has provided his usual energy off the bench</a>.</p><p>Hayes has appeared in six games so far, including one start, at a little over 18 minutes per game. He’s averaged 6.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 76.2 percent shooting from the field. Hayes was an unrestricted free agent this past offseason, but chose to re-sign with the Lakers even after a disappointing ending amid the team’s elimination in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Jaxson Hayes’ forgotten skill he hopes to bring to Lakers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-negative-experience-that-turned-him-into-a-dodgers-fan');   ga('set', 'title', 'Lakers center Jaxson Hayes’ negative experience that turned him into a Dodgers fan');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Jaxson-Hayes-fired-up.jpg"><figcaption>© Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers center Jaxson Hayes’ negative experience that turned him into a Dodgers fan</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-11-04T01:51:23-08:00">November 4th, 1:51am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-11-04T01:51:23-08:00">November 4th, 1:51am</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Dodgers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>A good subset of Los Angeles Lakers fans are also fans of the recently-crowned back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-jaxson-hayes-la-bench-energy-change-game">Jaxson Hayes is certainly one of them</a>. He was rocking a Dodgers jersey after he played a huge role in the Lakers’ 130-120 win over the Miami Heat on Sunday night, as he was clearly beaming with pride with the city of LA in celebration.</p><p>However, Hayes wasn’t initially a Dodgers fan. He was born in Oklahoma and his family moved to Loveland, Ohio when he was just three years old. Due to proximity, there was always going to be one MLB team for Hayes to root for. Loveland was just around 20 miles away from the Cincinnati Reds’ home, Great American Ballpark, and Hayes was definitely rooting for the Reds during his younger days.</p><p>But now, Hayes is a true Dodgers fan, although one would think that he would have at least felt a bit conflicted when the Reds were destroyed in the 2025 NL Wild Card Round. The Lakers center shared the story of why he’s turned sour towards the Reds, as he was called to throw the first pitch on multiple occasions only for the opportunities to be taken away from him.</p><p>“I used to be a Reds fan. But then they cancelled on me throwing out the first pitch a few times so I’m now a Dodgers fan,” Hayes said in his postgame presser two days ago, via Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation.</p><p>As aggrieved as Hayes might feel to miss out on opportunities to throw a first pitch for the team he grew up rooting for in MLB, he has to be loving life as a Dodgers fan anyway.</p><h2><b>Fans bring up Lakers center Jaxson Hayes’ checkered past</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IMG_0245.jpeg"><figcaption>William Liang-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Hayes may be sour that he hasn’t been given an opportunity to throw a first pitch for the Reds. But the Reds simply might be wary of his off-court history. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/lakers-news-nba-jaxson-hayes-domestic-violence-investigation-video-leak">Lakers center was charged with 12 misdemeanors</a> back in 2021 after getting into a domestic dispute with his then-girlfriend. He ultimately received three years of probation and had to attend anti-domestic violence classes.</p><p>Fans on social media then sided with the Reds’ decision to not allow Hayes to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Great American Ballpark.</p><p>“Beats women, checks out,” X user @cmielionaire <a href="https://x.com/cmielionaire/status/1985497133278007336" rel="noopener">wrote</a>.</p><p>“good on the reds for cancelling on this wife beating pos,” @jordandwolfe10 <a href="https://x.com/jordandwolfe10/status/1985476715309650278" rel="noopener">added</a>.</p><p>“They prolly cancelled him throwing the first pitch out after he beat the living s**t out of his girlfriend,” @JDAlexander3 <a href="https://x.com/JDAlexander3/status/1985432990634156418" rel="noopener">furthered</a>.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
5.3	4.1	1.1	0.4	0.4

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
5.3	4.1	1.1	0.4	0.4

Jaxson Hayes

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Jaxson Hayes’ forgotten skill he hopes to bring to Lakers

Lakers center Jaxson Hayes’ negative experience that turned him into a Dodgers fan

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