Cam Reddish finding role with Lakers with his defense

When you think of Cam Reddish, what's the first word or phrase that comes to mind?

Is it potential, given that he's shown much of it but it hasn't fully materialized? Maybe it's scoring threat? He's a guard with a decent handle and can get hot and excite a crowd, a la former Laker Malik Monk.

Or is it Klutch? The agency he's signed to is the same one LeBron James is signed with. It's known how close Klutch is with the Lakers and could be a factor as to why Reddish is on the team. One thing I feel confident in saying is you didn't pick the word defense, but that's what Darvin Ham thinks of when talking about Reddish.

"It's going to be defense, 3-and-D," Ham said after Wednesday’s win against the Clippers of what role Reddish will have on this team. "The only thing he needed is consistent consistency. Just a program that's going to put their arms around him and encourage him to get better, simplify things and he'll respond in the right way as he did tonight. He's been awesome since he's been a Laker."

Reddish has gotten a decent run this season, averaging 17 minutes a game. But with the Lakers missing Gabe Vincent and Rui Hachiumra and Taurean Prince being a late scratch, Reddish was essential in the win.

He played 29 minutes and, as Ham mentioned, impacted the game more with his defense than offense, taking on the challenge of defending Paul George and Kawhi Leonard and succeeding as much as one can against those two stars.

"He came out defensively getting steals, great contests even though they're going to make shots, playing well offensively, attacking the basket," Anthony Davis told the media postgame. "He missed a dunk on Zubac but just the aggressiveness he had tonight is what we're going to need from him."

The story on Reddish is still being written and while the previous chapter was more about the optimism of tomorrow versus the reality of today, he has a chance to have a career year and redefine his role and place in the NBA hierarchy here in L.A. just like others have.

Wednesday's game threw cold water on skeptics who were clamoring for a reduction in his minutes and asking for more Max Christie time. If he keeps playing like this, the jeers will turn to cheers for him inside Crypto.com Arena.

You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.