The Los Angeles Lakers won two much-needed games against the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors to put them back two games over .500, after a disastrous 1-4 road trip.

What changed in the wins?

First, rookie Lakers coach JJ Redick benched D’Angelo Russell in the Memphis game and inserted Cam Reddish in the starting lineup, pushing Max Christie from being a mainstay of their second unit down to the end of the bench.

Christie reacted to this roster reshuffling on his Instagram.

“Stay the course,” the guard wrote along a photo of himself during shootaround.

Lakers’ roster reshuffling

For a couple of seasons now, many Lakers fans have clamored for Max Christie to get more minutes, owing to his defense and shooting, and JJ Redick finally seems to have listened to them, until their 1-4 stretch that forced him to insert Cam Reddish into the starting five.

While benching Christie might sound unfortunate, starting Reddish at the two may have temporarily solved the team’s immediate problems: defense at the guard position and nonexistent bench production.

The latter had killed the Lakers during their first road trip, most particularly during their embarrassing loss to Detroit.

During that game, the Purple and Gold’s bench combined only for 10 points, completely untenable for an 82-game season.

Meanwhile, Reddish at the two means size and athleticism at the guard spot.

Against the Pistons, Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey simply attacked D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves seemingly every possession, torching the two slow-footed guards for a triple-double and 26 points, respectively.

Likewise, it means Reaves can play his natural position at point guard, and he can preserve his legs for high-leverage moments because Cam would guard the team’s best player instead of him.

Since Redick’s roster move, AR has averaged 23.5 points and 6.5 assists in the last two games, on shooting splits of 56.7% from the field and 47.4% from three.

On the other hand, Reddish in the starting lineup also moved D’Lo to the bench, where he can provide scoring and playmaking to a second unit who has had a lot of trouble throwing the ball in the hoop.

He also has more free rein to run the offense for the second group as the only playmaker there.

Moreover, Russell has also bought in to this recent change instead of pouting to the media, like when previous coach Darvin Ham benched him and Reaves after the Lakers won the NBA Cup.

Benching is a part of life as a role player in the NBA, and it’s important for guys like Max Christie, who just signed an extension with the team in the offseason, to maintain confidence in himself and buy in to the team’s philosophy.

During the season, he will find his minutes again, either with the Lakers or with another team, provided LA can package him into the right deal that would push them over the top.