At least 100 people who were trapped in a South African mine have died, a group representing them has said.
They were illegally mining in an abandoned gold mine and have been engaged in a lengthy standoff with authorities who had cut off their food, water and supplies in an attempt to “smoke them out”.
Sabelo Mnguni, a spokesman for the Mining Affected Communities United in Action Group (MACUA), said a mobile phone sent to the surface with some of the rescued miners on Friday had videos showing dozens of bodies underground wrapped in plastic.
Image: Police officers and private security personnel at the entrance to the mine in Stilfontein, South Africa.
Pic: AP/Denis Farrell
Mr Mnguni said “a minimum” of 100 men had died in the mine in the northwest town of Stilfontein, suspected to have died of starvation or dehydration.
Since Friday, 18 bodies have been brought out but hundreds of people remain underground.
Police spokesman Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said they were still verifying information on how many bodies had been recovered and how many survivors have been brought out after starting a new rescue operation on Monday.
The two videos are reported to show dozens of dead bodies, many wrapped in plastic, while emaciated, shirtless miners pleaded for help.
Standoff with police for months
The mine has been the scene of a standoff between police and miners since authorities first attempted to force the miners out and seal the mine in November.
Police said the miners were refusing to come out for fear of arrest, but Mr Mnguni said they had been left trapped underground after police removed the ropes they used to climb out of the mine.
Police also cut off the miners’ food supplies in an attempt to force them out for illegally entering the abandoned mine in search of gold.
Their efforts were part of a crackdown on illegal mining that has plagued the country for decades. The miners are often from neighbouring countries, and police have said the illegal operations involve larger syndicates that employ them.
Previously, cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said: “We are not sending help to criminals. We are going to smoke them out.
“They will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn’t send them there.”
MACUA spokesperson Magnificent Mndebele said more than 400 miners were still waiting to be rescued two months after the standoff with South African police.
Mr Mndebele said that a pulley system, used for lowering supplies to the miners and enabling them to get out, was destroyed before MACUA restored it on 9 January.
“The shaft is 2km deep. It’s impossible for people to climb up,” he said.
The authorities were previously said to be at the mine preparing for a planned rescue this week and MACUA posted images on social media saying the rescue operation had begun on Monday.
Both the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) and the country’s Department for Mineral Resources and Energy have been approached for comment.
Businesses along Lake Avenue destroyed by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California. The cause of the fire and others that broke out in Los Angeles last week are being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
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At least two lawsuits have been filed against Southern California Edison power company, on the speculation that faulty power lines may have sparked the Eaton Fire, which has claimed at least 16 lives and destroyed over a thousand structures.
Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have not determined a cause for the fire; the agency says it has just begun its investigation into the Eaton and Palisades wildfires that are still burning. But that hasn’t stopped speculation.
For days, social media accounts have been filled with videos and alleged witness accounts that appear to show flames breaking out under transmission power lines in Eaton canyon. The posts have fueled questions about whether the power company is responsible.
Southern California Edison spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas told NPR that her company was aware of a filing in LA Superior Court, but had not been served or had a chance to review the complaint as of Monday evening.
“Our hearts remain with our communities during the devastating fires in Southern California, and we remain committed to supporting them through this difficult time,” said Ornelas. “SCE will review the complaint when it is received, the cause of the fire continues to be under investigation.”
Attorney Ali Moghaddas, of the law firm Edelson PC, represents Evangeline Iglesias, an Altadena resident whose home burned to the ground. He says the lawsuit was filed quickly to preserve potential evidence that might help reconstruct the scene later in court.
The complaint alleges that Southern California Edison violated public safety and utility codes and was negligent in its handling of power safety shut-offs during known extreme fire conditions and high winds.
SoCal Edison and other power companies say they preemptively turned power off during the height of the fire, following California Public Utilities Commission guidelines.
In an interview with ABC News earlier on Monday, Southern California Edison’s parent company CEO Pedro Pizarro said employees monitoring the lines remotely at the time saw no indications of any electrical anomalies that would typically cause sparking.
“That said, we have not been able to get up close to the equipment yet because firefighters have not deemed the area safe for entry,” Pizarro told ABC’s George Stephanoplous. “So as soon as we can get close to it, we’ll inspect and we’ll be transparent with the public.”
Moghaddas says the utility company’s response is out of a playbook they’ve used to avoid responsibility in the past, and alleges the company has not been transparent about exactly which lines and transmission towers were de-energized during the peak of the Santa Ana winds last week.
“They had the tools to try to mitigate the possibility of this wildfire, and instead, they chose to ignore those warnings,” Moghaddas told NPR. “They didn’t do what they were supposed to do as alleged in our complaint.”
Southern California Edison has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements related to at least seven other wildfires in recent years, including $80 million dollar settlements to the U.S. Forest Service for the 2017 Thomas Fire and to the County of Los Angeles for the 2020 Bobcat Fire.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order Monday that seeks to expedite rebuilding efforts after fires leveled thousands of homes and businesses in the city last week, mostly within Pacific Palisades.
Executive Order 1 requires city departments to complete project reviews within 30 days from when a complete application is submitted and waives discretionary hearings under zoning rules, among other efforts.
The order applies as long as property owners do not increase the size of their homes and businesses by more than 10%.
“This unprecedented natural disaster warrants an unprecedented response that will expedite the rebuilding of homes, businesses and communities,” Bass said in a statement. “This order clears away red tape and bureaucracy to organize around urgency, common sense and compassion. We will do everything we can to get Angelenos back home.”
Bass’ move comes one day after Gov. Gavin Newsom, via his own executive order, waived regulations under state environmental laws in an effort to speed up rebuilding in the Palisades, as well as Altadena and other areas outside the city. Bass had praised Newsom’s decision and had signaled last week that a similar effort was coming from the city.
While Bass and Newsom’s efforts aim to make it easier to build, the thicket of regulatory hurdles that normally affect construction, especially in the Palisades and other coastal areas, mean that details of the government’s response — such as the number of available staff to process permits, or even exemptions from permits — will determine its efficacy.
Bass’ order also establishes task forces for debris removal, mudslide mitigation and to help multifamily development nearing completion receive temporary occupancy approval to make more units available on the market.
Azeen Khanmalek, executive director of Abundant Housing LA, called Bass’ order a positive development in the rebuilding process. But given the scale of the crisis, he called for Los Angeles to do more to fast-track new housing developments across the city — regardless of location and whether it’s a rebuild.
“We were already in a housing crunch before and now there are thousands of new households and families looking for places to live,” Khanmalek said.
macOS Sequoia can sometimes leak data after an update.
Several sources report the firewall in macOS Sequoia can sometimes leak data after an update. Here’s how to test and fix it.
The macOS firewall in System Settings allows you to protect your Mac and filter network traffic based on a set of rules.
Several sites, includingmullvad.net have reported that after macOS Sequoia updates, the firewall built into macOS may leak some data, allowing it to avoid firewall rules.
The cause of this leak is unknown – but apparently, a Mac restart fixes the problem after updating.
Background
Being based on BSD, macOS uses a packet-based network filter known simply as Packet Filter or “PF” for short (also known as Berkeley Packet Filter). PF goes way back to the early versions of BSD and OpenBSD when networking was added to UNIX.
PF works based on a set of rules stored in a file, which on macOS is named pf.conf that lives at the root of your Startup Disk in /private/etc. You’ll need to turn on invisible files in the macOS Finder, or use the command line in Terminal to view the file.
You can open pf.conf in TextEdit but if you change the contents of the file be sure you understand PF and how the rules file works. You can learn more about pf.conf in Terminal by typing:
man pf.conf and pressing Return
pf.conf also points to a folder in /private/etc named pf.anchors which contains sets of individual rules based on domains.
You can also use the tcpdump command in Terminal to print a description of the contents of packets on a network interface based on a boolean expression. For more info on tcpdump in Terminal, type:
man tcpdump and press Return
A packet is one unit of information transmitted across a network that contains data, network headers, and routing information. When your computer loads data over a network it does so in chunks (packets) and reassembles received data into something an application can understand.
Packet filtering and firewalls work by allowing or blocking data.
pfctl
pfctl is another command-line utility that can be used to control PF. To see its usage and options in Terminal type:
man pfctl and press Return.
For some pfctl commands you may need to use the sudo prefix. pfctl is quite extensive and there’s a lot you can do with it.
As mullvad.net mentions, you can use pfctl to see if your Mac is affected by the leak. But we should warn you: don’t attempt this unless you’re comfortable using Terminal as changing the firewall rules can affect how your Mac receives network data.
You can turn the macOS firewall on or off completely in System Settings->Network->Firewall.
For most Mac users, this bug shouldn’t be a big issue – just be sure you Restart your Mac after any system updates and everything should be fine. Hopefully, Apple will fix this bug soon.
An anticipated rematch between Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia is almost a done deal. This comes after Haney officially dropped his lawsuit against Garcia from their first meeting.
Remember, the two stars collided in April 2024 in one of the biggest boxing matches of the year. Despite being an underdog, Garcia stunned Haney with multiple knockdowns en route to a majority decision win. It was a huge upset and a performance that solidified Garcia’s status within the sport.
Unfortunately, Garcia would go on to fail pre and post-fight drug tests. As a result, Garcia had his victory overturned to a no contest and was suspended from boxing for one year. Haney, who was undefeated entering his clash with Garcia, took things one step further and filed a lawsuit against “King Ry” for alleged battery, fraud, and unjust enrichment.
Luckily for boxing fans, a Monday report has revealed that Haney has dropped his case against Garcia. In exchange, Garcia has agreed to VADA drug testing for a potential rematch, which is all Haney needs to sign the dotted line. The writing appears to be on the wall.
See below:
A very reliable source told me that Devin Haney has officially dropped his lawsuit against Ryan Garcia IF he agrees to do VADA. Garcia has agreed to do VADA and the rematch is on! #boxing
“A very reliable source told me that Devin Haney has officially dropped his lawsuit against Ryan Garcia IF he agrees to do VADA. Garcia has agreed to do VADA and the rematch is on!”
Haney also took took to social media to indicate the rematch is in the works. Check it out below:
I guess he’s not a duck.. he’s a goose. See u soon bucko!
“I guess he’s not a duck.. he’s a goose. See u soon bucko!”
Insomnia
Will Conor McGregor ever stop?
Arman Tsarukyan will be all business after his UFC 311 lightweight title shot.
Arman Tsarukyan said that after he wins the belt, he’ll fight ONLY for money:
“After I win the title, the sport thing is done. It’s gonna be just business… After this fight, when I’m the champion, I’m gonna only think about money fights.”
Corey Anderson was not happy about the Bellator news.
Imagine being the champion of an organization chilling on the couch and your wife walks in and tells you “did you see this? Bellator is dead now?”… and all you can do is shrug your shoulders in confusion…. CUZ you still haven’t heard a thing. Lol Yeaaaah, that was me.
Sheinelle Jones has Today show fans worried due to her absence from the morning show, even during the January 10, 2025, episode, which marked Hoda Kotb’s last appearance. While the reason remains unclear, it has sparked concerns about whether she is still part of the show’s hosting lineup or just out sick.
While many know Sheinelle for her role on Today, there are plenty of facts to learn about her. Keep reading below, as Hollywood Life has gathered five facts about the journalist.
Sheinelle Jones Is from Pennsylvania
Sheinelle was born on April 19, 1978, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sheinelle Jones Is Married
She has been married to Uche Ojeh, a consultant, since 2007.
Sheinelle Jones Is a Mother
The journalist is a mother to three children, whom she shares with Uche: son Kayin and twins Clara and Uche.
Sheinelle Jones Met with President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden
In an Instagram post on December 16, 2024, Sheinelle shared a photo of herself with her son Kayin as they posed alongside the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden, and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden. She captioned her post, “This moment with my oldest son Kayinand @potus and @drbiden transcended politics. I got emotional as the president kindly complimented his attire and then said these words to him with the most sincere eyes – ‘Son, I want to tell you the most important thing. Remember I told you this: always, take care of your mother.’ Kayin replied, ‘I will. Yes sir.’ -It felt like Biden stopped the clock for a second… so we could take it in. I got a little teary when we left that beautifully decorated room. It was a night we’ll always hold dear.”
Sheinelle Jones Began Working for Today in 2014
Sheinelle began her career with Today in 2014, starting on weekends and gradually working her way up to co-host, allowing her to appear several times a week. No comments have been made so far regarding her absence.
The Spanish Air Force carried out a rescue in the early hours of Sunday morning, with personnel saving a “critically ill” tourist aboard a cruise ship.
The Aidamar vessel was located more than 600 kilometres southwest of Tenerife.
A statement from the Spanish Ministry of Defence said that a Super Puma helicopter was deployed to airlift a German woman, 61, who was suffering severe complications from a pulmonary infection.
Canarian Weekly reports that the mission involved the coordinated use of additional aircraft and advanced satellite communications.
A D.4 VIGMA aircraft was activated to provide wind data at altitude, and the aircraft established contact with the ship.
This move offered guidance to facilitate the helicopter’s approach. The helicopter crew was equipped with military medical personnel.
So the airlift of the woman could go ahead, the cruise ship maintained a steady course and speed that was directed by the VIGMA aircraft.
The passenger was then hoisted aboard the helicopter before it headed to El Hierro Airport.
The facility had to activate its facilities outside normal operating hours to accommodate the mission, it has been reported.
The helicopter then continued to Tenerife South Airport, where an ambulance from the Canary Islands Emergency Service transported the woman to Quirón Hospital in Santa Cruz, where she was admitted for further medical treatment.
Interstellar is one of the greatest films ever made, with Christopher Nolan’s creativity bursting through in every instance, as well as the visual storytelling that transcends beyond the norm. If it hadn’t been for the films The Dark Knight and Inception, Interstellar would have easily been his best work, but in terms of rewatchability, it certainly outperforms any of his other movies.
Aside from being an exceptional science fiction film that messes with people’s minds, Interstellar is also a visual spectacle, with most of the scenes set in space, other planets, and Gargantua (a black hole). While that is certainly an impressive aspect of Nolan’s masterpiece, its true grandeur lies in its incorporation of physics, including a well-known law from a prominent scientist.
At this point, you would have guessed what it was, since the law was mentioned once in the film, but why is this sci-fi feature so insistent on making Cooper’s daughter Murph the central figure of the story? For the most part, Cooper has been an incredible protagonist, but near the end of the film, we learn that Murph is the missing key that completes the puzzle. So, if you’ve been curious about naming Cooper’s daughter Murph and the deeper meaning it holds in Interstellar, you’ve come to the right place to find out.
Murph’s Name in ‘Interstellar’ Is a Subtle Nod to Murphy’s Law
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Release Date
November 7, 2014
Runtime
169 Minutes
As we all know, Christopher Nolan loves to play around with physics, and he takes it to the highest possible level in Interstellar, which is based on one of the most popular scientific ideas, Murphy’s Law. This concept is central to the film, so it’s imperative that we understand it before we begin to figure out how it connects to Cooper’s daughter, Murph. In a nutshell, Murphy’s Law states that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” which means that when there’s a possibility of something going awry at the most inconvenient time, it most likely does.
The law is said to have originated in the late 1940s when Edward A. Murphy Jr. remarked on a technician who made an error, quoting, “if there’s any way they can do it wrong, they will.” Over the years, Murphy’s Law evolved into a concept that is widely used in most real-life scenarios, including films like Interstellar, which cleverly utilizes the law and redefines it in a more optimistic way. Having said that, Nolan ingeniously altered the law into something more optimistic, allowing the film to achieve its ultimate purpose more effectively, making it one of the greatest science fiction films ever made.
A few memorable sci-fi movies like Minority Report and 2002: A Space Odyssey became known for taking scientific accuracy into careful consideration.
The Significance of Murph’s Name in ‘Interstellar’
Although Matthew McConaughey’s Cooper is the film’s protagonist, the core concept of the film revolves around Murph. To begin with, Nolan’s movie is replete with intricate elements that enrich the thematics of science and are typically difficult for viewers to comprehend, but the fact that he tied everything to Murph’s name is simply remarkable. Murph Cooper has profound significance as her name itself nods to Murphy’s Law, and her journey throughout the film reflects it, beginning with young Murph believing that her name implies a bad omen, but her father corrects her, quoting, “Murphy’s Law doesn’t mean that something bad will happen. It means that whatever can happen, will happen.”
In fact, she plays a significant role in the film’s conclusion, deciphering the Morse code conveyed by her father from a five-dimensional space known as The Tesseract, which helped Earthlings leave their dying planet and find a new home. In other words, despite her childhood belief that her name was a bad omen, she becomes a bridge between the past, present, and future. Her existence alone is hope for humanity, as she pursues in her father’s footsteps, hoping to meet him someday, but in the end, she ends up saving the world by persevering against all odds, despite acknowledging what is meant to happen, will happen, another instance of Murphy’s Law.
How ‘Interstellar’ Incorporates Murphy’s Law
Even though Interstellar places great significance on Murph’s name, it isn’t the only place where Murphy’s Law is symbolized, as, throughout the film, the accomplished filmmaker crafted numerous sequences that best define the principal. For instance, the concluding scene is an ideal example of how Murphy’s Law is put into effect, as Murph finds the watch and figures out the way to save the people of Earth using the Morse code transmitted by Cooper, which happened because things were destined to unfold that way.
Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic Interstellar celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2024, and it has had a major impact on sci-fi and blockbuster films.
Similarly, the dust storm that arises in Murph’s room, Dr. Mann sabotaging the mission, and Cooper surviving the impossible black hole all represent Murphy’s Law because everything that has transpired has set the stage for Murph to solve the equation and save humanity. For this reason, Cooper emphasizes at the beginning that the law isn’t about things going wrong at times, but rather about both positive and negative events playing out at different periods to create a major scenario that was always meant to happen.
A controversial romance movie with a Game of Thrones star has become a streaming success. The show was a launching point for many of its cast members. One such talent was Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen in the George R.R. Martin fantasy adaptation across all eight seasons. Clarke was 24 years old when she made her debut as part of the Game of Thrones cast in 2011. Prior to the HBO series, her only roles had been a single episode of the TV series Doctors, the short film Drop the Dog, and a part in the TV movie Triassic Attack.
Game of Thrones was life-changing for Clarke. She was nominated for four Emmys for the series, including three for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. After the conclusion of Game of Thrones in 2019, Clarke has gone on to have roles in other projects including Last Christmas, The Pod Generation, and Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion. Now, a movie Clarke was in during her Game of Thrones tenure is finding streaming success nearly a decade later.
Me Before You Has Become A Streaming Success
Me Before You Was Controversial
Me Before You has found success on streaming. The 2016 romance film is based on the book by Jojo Moyes, who also penned the movie’s script. Clarke plays Lou Clark, a woman who falls in love with a man she is taking care of, who has recently been paralyzed. Though Me Before You was a box office success, the film was incredibly controversial in the disability community. The plot’s main premise centers around the male lead’s desire for assisted suicide, leading many to claim the film promoted negative messages about people with disabilities.
Per FlixPatrol, Me Before You has now become a streaming success. The film made it to Prime Video’s Top 10 movies in the United States today (January 13), squeaking into the no. 10 slot. Whether it will stay there in the coming days remains to be seen, but it has drummed up significant viewership today. Other movies making the chart today include The Fall Guy, In the Land of Saints and Sinners, Tag, The Creator, The Equalizer 2, A Quiet Place: Day One, Red One, The Equalizer, and The Beekeeper.
Our Take On Me Before You’s Streaming Success
Controversial Romance Movies Can Be Popular
In some ways, Me Before You‘s successes have always had an inexplicable quality. Some called for the boycotting of the film at the time when it came out, saying that it perpetuated the harmful idea that being disabled made a life not worth living, due to its premise and the journey of its protagonist. Still, Me Before You was an incredible success at the box office. Made on an estimated budget of just $20 million, Me Before You made over $208 million worldwide. This showed that the romance movie could succeed in spite of poor reviews and controversy.
As a whole, Me Before You‘s lifetime of success — in theaters and on streaming — speaks to the role of two ongoing industry concerns: the portrayal of disability on screen, and the role of controversy in making a movie succeed.
In this sense, it is unsurprising why Me Before You would do well on streaming. It is hard to say what exactly is prompting more interest in the movie now, but its success does fall in line with recent trends in streaming overall. It Ends with Us has also been doing well on streaming in recent months. It is also a romance movie that caused controversy during and after its release. Even though Me Before You is an older example of this phenomenon, and has a different controversy at its core, it might pique the interest of romance genre lovers who want to get in on the discourse.
It Ends with Us‘ controversy stems from a feud between director Justin Baldoni and star Blake Lively, which has become a legal battle involving Lively’s claims of sexual harrassment from Baldoni.
As a whole, Me Before You‘s lifetime of success — in theaters and on streaming — speaks to the role of two ongoing industry concerns: the portrayal of disability on screen, and the role of controversy in making a movie succeed. The portrayal of disability on screen has been a hot button issue in Hollywood over the last decade or so. While casting choices have been changing for the better at times, there are still too many cases wherein an able-bodied actor plays a person with a disability, or a problematic message about disability is being conveyed.
Still, movies like Me Before You have been successful despite boycott attempts and backlash. When examined in conjunction with the success of 2024’s It Ends with Us, there seems to be a lot of hand waving among romance genre viewers. That is, even when a book or film in the genre is declared by many to have a glaring problematic element, audiences seem willing to watch these movies anyway, or are perhaps even fueled further by the controversy itself.
Me Before You is a romantic drama directed by Thea Sharrock and based on the bestselling novel by Jojo Moyes. It follows the story of Louisa Clark (Emilia Clarke), a quirky young woman who becomes a caregiver for Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), a wealthy, paralyzed man. As they grow closer, their relationship transforms both of their lives, exploring themes of love, loss, and personal growth.
Max Christie reclined in his locker while a recent Grizzlies game played on the Lakers’ locker-room television. He looked relaxed and ready to go.
However, he was, in fact, sick.
“I sound kinda crazy,” he said with his sinuses turning him into an extended relative of Kermit the Frog.
Hours later, he’d walk back into that same locker room with a big smile, convinced he usually plays better when he’s under the weather. More importantly, he returned to his locker armed with another piece of evidence that he is where he belongs, the Lakers’ long-term project starting to pay off.
Sunday in the Lakers’ 116-110 win against Memphis, Christie became the latest player to move into the team’s starting lineup — a search that began last season under Darvin Ham and that’s continued this year with JJ Redick. Against the Grizzlies, Christie scored only seven points and attempted just three shots, but he largely stayed in front of Memphis All-Star Ja Morant, frustrating him into a six-for-21 shooting night and seven turnovers.
It was Morant’s second-worst shooting game of the season, most of it coming with Christie’s chest in front of him.
“He was great,” said LeBron James of Christie.
With James back after his week away from the team while resting his injured left foot, Redick had another chance to tinker with the Lakers’ starting five. After beginning the season defiantly defending a James-Anthony Davis-Rui Hachimura-Austin Reaves-D’Angelo Russell starting group, Redick moved Russell to the bench after nine games for Cam Reddish. Needing more offense, Redick replaced Reddish with rookie Dalton Knecht, but his shooting has fizzled over the last month.
Gabe Vincent, who started the last three games while the Lakers were still dealing with injures — first to Reaves and then to James — was a real option to stay in the first five before the coaches landed on Christie.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Redick said. “And we really feel like as a staff Gabe has been fantastic the last couple weeks, particularly the defensive end with his physicality and on-ball stuff. And he’s also had some good offensive games as well. I think the size and just the athleticism, and the fact that Max has a really good feel for the game and he can move, was important.”
Christie, who turns 22 in February, re-signed with the Lakers this summer for four years and $32 million, an investment that raised some eyebrows around the league after two uneven seasons to start his career.
But the Lakers and top basketball executive Rob Pelinka believed Christie’s athleticism, his emotional intelligence and his two-way potential were strong enough that he merited the payday and a season-opening spot in the team’s rotation.
Christie, though, struggled badly to start the season and fell out of Redick’s rotation, relegated to late-game mop-up duty in wins over Philadelphia and Toronto before a DNP on Nov. 13 against Memphis.
Injuries, though, opened the door for Christie shortly after that and he’s been a more consistent presence since then.
“I think just being in the fire, to be honest, is how I’ve grown,” Christie said Sunday. “I think in previous years, I haven’t been in a lot of high-pressure, high-stakes situations. This year, I’ve had a few of those and OKC, I obviously made a big mistake in that one.”
Lakers guard Max Christie, left, tries to cut off a drive by Suns guard Devin Booker during a game last month.
(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
That mistake — an intentional foul the Lakers didn’t have to give — was crucial and helped cost them a win against the Thunder that could’ve helped snap the Lakers’ out of a funk that lingered until Sunday.
Yet that’s not how it happened. Instead, the mistake simply meant Christie would have to get better next time.
With the Lakers in Atlanta, it was Christie again on an island at the end of regulation, this time with Hawks All-Star guard Trae Young in front of him. With the clock winding down in a tie game, Christie blocked Young’s potential game-winner, sending the game into overtime.
Sunday against Morant in his first game as a starter alongside Davis, James, Hachimura and Reaves, Christie’s athleticism was constantly on display. He quickly moved his feet to keep one of the NBA’s most dynamic guards from getting to the paint. He challenged Morant’s shots at the point of release, Christie jumping with one of the NBA’s best leapers.
It was as much of an impact as a player can make without touching the ball.
“My mind was just focused on trying to make it as tough as I could for him,” Christie said. “He’s a really dynamic player. He’s a really good player. So I want to just do as good of a job as I can, just making it tough for him. And I thought I did a decent job of that tonight.”
As the Lakers move into trade season, teams likely will press the Lakers for Christie’s availability. He’s one of the Lakers’ few young players with trade value. Yet a cleaner pathway for the team’s growth might be counting on Christie to continue his improvement, the two-way wing the Lakers desperately need maybe already in their locker room.
“Just in terms of his long-term outlook and his growth, I think these opportunities are great for him,” Redick said. “I’ll reference the Oklahoma City game where he made a mistake at the end and we play a week later in Atlanta and he’s in sort of the same situation at the end of regulation and he gets a block on Trae Young. With young guys these opportunities are great for them to grow not only confidence but also just the learned experience of our knowledge of being in different situations.”
With Christie, you never have to doubt his understanding of the situation, a mature person despite being one of the youngest players on the roster. He’s been patient with himself. And it’s paying off.
“It feels good and it’s pretty cool just to see the progression and the growth in terms of just me over the last three years, to be honest. And I think I think I’ve slowly gotten a little bit better,” Christie said. “I’ve been put in more tense situations, more important situations. And I think these are good experiences for me, guarding a dynamic part, like Ja, being in at the end of the game. And I think it’s cool for me just to reflect on the growth that I’ve had.
