TORONTO— The play got underway more than an hour before kickoff. friday night in Canada, Lakers Guards D’Angelo Russell and Max Christie strategizing in one side of the team locker room as they prepared for the Raptors.

For the first two weeks of the season, Christie had struggled.

“I’m just playing robotically,” he told people.

In his third season, now with a real role as the first player consistently coming off the bench, much of the momentum he had built over the summer and preseason was slipping away under a slew of missed shots and defensive uncertainty.

Russell saw a window to do something about it.

The two players talked about how when Christie checked in later that night, Russell was trying to take down a defender off the dribble, allowing Christie to quickly cut off the backdoor for a layup.

It was prophetic.

On the first possession after Christie scored midway through the first quarter, Russell dribbled left-footed toward Christie in the corner. And just as they were talking, Christie slashed hard toward the edge. Russell fired a precise rebound pass that found his teammate, who exploded toward the rim for the difficult layup and a foul.

“Crazy, right?” Russell said with a big smile after the game.

Christie finished the game with seven points, his best offensive performance of the young season. He finished with a plus-7, the first time the Lakers outscored their opponents during Christie’s minutes.

“I just find ways to make the game easier for our younger guys, try to simplify it, help them think less, help them get in a position where they can be the best,” Russel said. “For me, I know Max is a confident person, so I try to instill confidence in him and keep it there no matter how the storm and adversity goes. Just keep that confidence high, everything will be fine.”

For the Lakers, moments like this are crucial as the team tries to build trust with each other under a new coaching staff and system.

It’s especially encouraging for Russell, who JJ Redick pushed this summer to be a consistent vocal leader committed to winning above all else.

“It’s one of the challenges I gave him the first day he came to the gym and was using his voice. He was energetic and we talked about it later. And I said, that’s what I want, that should be your standard,” Redick said. “That should be who you are every day, whether shots go in or not, or whether you get subbed at the end of a game. And look, he played very well tonight. He is going to have many good games in which he plays well. His spirit hasn’t been diminished at all with any kind of struggle whatever you want to call it, shooting issues, to start the season. It’s been fantastic.

“And I think for all of our guys, he’s a great example. … It’s something we’ve talked about with several of our older players. You have to be a leader with these young people and help them get up. Give them, give them some confidence and it’s great to hear that DLo did that.”

League reopens investigation into Jaxson Hayes

Following video posted early Saturday on TMZ’s website, the NBA is reopening an investigation into a 2021 incident in which Jaxson Hayes was arrested and charged with 12 misdemeanors, including domestic battery and resisting arrest.

Hayes later pleaded no contest to two of the charges: false imprisonment and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to community service and probation. The NBA did not sanction him.

Security camera footage obtained by TMZ showed Hayes, then a member of the New Orleans Pelicans, and his then-girlfriend Sofia Jamora in an argument. In the footage, Hayes shoves Jamora and spits on him.

“As a result of the media report and video released (Saturday) morning, we have reopened our investigation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.

Speaking to reporters Sunday in Toronto, Redick said the team is aware of and cooperating with the league’s investigation but would not comment.

After the team signed Hayes in 2023, general manager Rob Pelinka said the Lakers took the charges “very seriously” and “undertook a full investigative process.”

“Jaxson has been very sincere in apologizing for handling that and he’s gone further to where he’s been a year or two in the NBA playing afterward,” Pelinka said. “It was something we felt like he owned it, took responsibility for it, and would be a better person on the other side of it.”

The Lakers play Monday in Detroit.