Jordan Goodwin's contract is one of the biggest questions for the LA Lakers heading into the final stretch of the regular season. Goodwin has been tremendous for the purple and gold since signing a two-way deal before the NBA All-Star break last month.
With LeBron James and Rui Hachimura out with injuries, coach JJ Redick has relied on Goodwin for additional minutes. He even started the energetic guard over the past three games and played in multiple positions.
For Wednesday's game against the Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray-less Denver Nuggets, Goodwin started at small forward. He was joined in the starting five by Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jaxson Hayes. But how did he perform versus a short-handed Denver team?

Jordan Goodwin had a solid stat line of eight points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals in nearly 27 minutes of action. The Lakers had no trouble at all against the Nuggets, earning the easy 120-108 win.
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The game was over early on in the first quarter when Luka Doncic decided to take over. Doncic scored 21 of his 31 points in the first 12 minutes to help establish the LA Lakers lead. They never trailed the game though there were some tense moments when the Denver Nuggets were making small runs.
Austin Reaves added 22 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while Dorian Finney-Smith contributed 14 points. Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt and Dalton Knecht all scored in double figures, combining for 34 points off the bench.
On the other hand, Aaron Gordon had another big game for the Nuggets. He had 26 points and 11 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to prevent the blowout loss. Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, Michael Porter Jr. and Spencer Jones all scored 12 points each.
The Lakers improved to 43-25 and are now the third seed ahead of the Nuggets. It will be interesting to see if the two teams will avoid each other in the first round or set up to meet in the conference semifinals.
Here are Jordan Goodwin's stats for the game:
How did Jordan Goodwin fare tonight against the Denver Nuggets?
Jordan Goodwin wasn't a big factor in the first quarter, limited to just five minutes and barely contributing to the LA Lakers. However, Goodwin had a much better second period when he took over on defense. His energy on the defensive end helped the Lakers stave off any run by the Denver Nuggets.
Goodwin has become part of the Lakers rotation though there are questions about his contract ahead of the playoffs. He's on a two-way deal, and if the Lakers want him to be part of the postseason roster, they need to sign him to a standard NBA contract.
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