Lakers Summer League Impressions #3

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*

Wow, now that felt like an NBA regular season game. The Kings-Lakers game was billed as the rubber match between Lonzo Ball and De'Aaron Fox. Even though it didn't happen, most of the crowd in Las Vegas got their money's worth in a fantastic finish. The Lakers managed to hold on to get their first Summer League win, outlasting the Kings 92-95. As usual like the previous posts, three headlines and a conclusion. Let's get to it.

No Ball? No Ingram? No Kuzma? No Hart? No Problem!

Lonzo Ball's groin injury deflated a lot of people in anticipation of another Ball-Fox matchup. Ingram's shut down for the rest of Summer League. Kuzma and Hart are out. This should be a cakewalk for De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and the Kings right? The injuries to all four players gives opportunity for the rest of the Summer League squad to compete and convince Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka, and Luke Walton that they deserve a shot to compete for a roster spot at training camp. Alex Caruso and Vander Blue picked up the slack. David Nwaba was solid again. Thomas Bryant had a bounce back game. Travis Wear made solid contributions. The Kings had that great run in the 4th quarter behind Buddy Hield, but I liked that these players kept their heads in the game and made key stops and key plays to seal the victory.

"You're Going to Training Camp!" - Alex Caruso, Vander Blue (Again)

Vander Blue is a regular invitee in the Lakers training camp, so I won't talk much about him. But, there's no denying he had a spectacular game, leading the Lakers with 21 points off the bench. He outgunned Buddy Hield during those last seconds of the 4th quarter. Alex Caruso though stepped up big, starting in Lonzo Ball's place. He recorded a near double-double of 18 points and 9 assists, shot four 3-pointers, and chipped 4 steals. Caruso made a key defensive play in that fourth quarter to swing a little bit of the momentum back to the Lakers. I'm seeing a lot "Caruso > Ball" comments on social media. Calm down people. He had a good game tonight no question, but Ball is the Lakers' long-term future. That's like the equivalent of saying Matt McGloin is better than Derek Carr because McGloin put up better numbers in preseason play. I'm sure my Raiders-Lakers brethren will understand that reference. But overall, Caruso played great tonight and unequivocally deserves a shot at training camp. At least he solves the backup PG uncertainty for now (sign Ennis or Rondo already Magic).

Nwaba Shines Again

David Nwaba's stats for tonight: 13 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks. His non-stop defense and energy and athleticism on offense is just infectious. The one thing that I'm disappointed about is that we haven't seen Nwaba's improved jump shot so far in this Summer League. We've heard reports about how he's improving his jumper in the offseason, but he couldn't showcase enough of that. But being an energy guy and a defensive specialist are the reasons why the Lakers are keeping him a little longer. He's earned his roster spot after a great sample size in the final games of last season.

Conclusion

I'm really impressed that this team did not back out from a challenge when all four of the Lakers' 1st rounders sat out. They knew that this was a make or break for them to capitalize on the opportunity to make the roster by Training Camp. The game got ugly late. They blew the big lead, but they found a way to hold it together and win. That's a hidden intangible that scouts and GMs are also evaluating during Summer League. Do these players have poise to pull it together when the going gets rough? The Lakers Summer League squad certainly passed that test tonight.

Well, I'd love to continue these posts, but like Magic Johnson calling off Brandon Ingram's Summer League season in the first game, I'm calling this off too. I've seen enough as I'm laughing while typing this post. But, if I continue this in next season, I'll probably consider going all the way to all five games. It's time to get ready for football season with the Raiders next month followed by the Lakers actual season in two months. Stay tuned for those main courses. I'll see you guys later.

Lakers Summer League Impressions #2

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*

Game 2 of the Lakers' Summer League is off the books. The Lakers' came out firing to start, leading 2-14 at the first quarter. But, they couldn't keep up the hot start as the Celtics rallied for an 86-81 win. Similar to the first post after yesterday's loss to the Clippers, this will follow a three headline limit followed by a conclusion.

"11-Ball"

Last night was not a good night for Lonzo Ball. Only scored 5 points, 2-15 from the field. We saw a little sample of his court vision last night. Tonight, we got more out of Ball. He finished with a triple-double tonight with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. There's a reason why I titled this headline "11-Ball" because of that stat line. Ball played faster tonight. I think last night, he was just getting a feel of the NBA tempo and pace. Tonight, he was more confident and he got help from a lot of players, Kyle Kuzma included. Players anticipated Lonzo's passes much better, helping him get those 11 assists for the night. Scoring-wise, Lonzo's three in the first quarter to put the Lakers up 0-8 was a welcoming sight. The scoring will pick up, but the Lakers drafted him primarily to be a pass first player and make teammates around him better. Overall, solid bounceback performance from him.

Kyle Kuzma Lights it Up

As I mentioned Kuzma in Lonzo Ball's headline, what a game for the Lakers' second 1st round pick in the 2017 NBA draft! 31 points, 5-10 from three point land, and 9 rebounds. He also had solid game last night. But, we saw a big jump from the Lakers' potential Stretch 4. For the most part, he did a good job defensively, staying on Jayson Tatum until he got hot late in the 3rd quarter. But back to the offense, Kuzma showed off an excellent shooting stroke tonight. Looking ahead to next season, he's gonna have a tall task to move up the ladder over Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. But like I said after the draft, his ability to hit the three will edge out both of them. If Randle gets traded and/or they move Deng, don't be surprised if Kuzma sees action at either Forward position. Tonight's game was a barometer of great potential for Kuzma.

Rim Rocker Nwaba

When the Lakers brought up David Nwaba to the active roster late last season, the scouting report we had about him was that he can play defense and he possesses great athleticism. Nwaba put up his athleticism on full display tonight with a couple of highlight dunks. He was blowing by defenders, making sharp cuts to the baskets for many of those dunks. Defensively, since Nwaba was inserted into the lineup tonight, the improved defensive activity was evident to start. Players were hustling and not giving their man any space. You can confidently say that Nwaba being in the lineup instigated fantastic team defense that the Lakers showed off to start. Stats-wise, Nwaba finished the night with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Those are solid numbers for the G-League Defensive Player of the Year and a guy who became a quick fan favorite among Laker Nation.

Conclusion

Even though the Lakers are 0-2 in the Summer League, the important thing that matters is that the rookies get the best out of their talent and potential. I was really impressed with the Lakers' three first round picks in this year's draft. Kyle Kuzma lit it up. Lonzo Ball bounced back. Josh Hart put up solid numbers before he went down with an ankle injury in the 4th quarter. Their performances tonight is something we can hold our heads up on, knowing that our first round picks flashed a lot of talent and potential as best they could. The Lakers are back in action against the Sacramento Kings. Lonzo Ball vs. DeAaron Fox was a heated debate among Laker forums prior to this year's draft. They had a pair of battles last season during the UCLA-Kentucky games. They meet again on Monday. That should be fun to watch.

Lakers Summer League Impressions #1

Welcome in to the first edition of the Impressions posts of the Lakers' Summer League 2017 campaign. This idea stemmed from my Summer League thoughts from last year when I uploaded "The Successors" Lakers hype video. The Lakers couldn't get the win today as they fell to the Clippers 96-93 in OT. Here are some of my impressions. This will follow a three headline limit followed by a conclusion.

Brandon Ingram is a Beast

Summer League stats are gonna be hard to come by since they're not the real NBA games. But, on the Lakers' headline, Ingram racked up 26 points, leading all Lakers in scoring. It's an old cliche, but what a difference a year makes for Ingram! Confidence was an issue in his rookie season, but he is embracing the role of taking up the mantle for the Lakers. I thought I was watching Kevin Durant with the way Ingram performed tonight. Don't let his body frame fool you. He looked strong to the basket tonight and whipped out a couple of nice moves down the stretch. He had a little scare at the end of regulation, going down on his leg. But, it was nothing minor and because of precautionary measures, Magic signaled Jud Buelcher to take Ingram out of the game. As much as the Lakers wanted a victory, it was a good call. You don't want to injure your star player-in-the-making in a meaningless Summer League game. But overall, impressive game from Ingram.

Lonzo Ball - Showed Flashes, But Not Good Enough

"Your just jinxed Lonzo Ball by uploading your highlight video hours before tip-off!" First off, there will be good days and there will be bad days. I'll just leave it at that. Tonight was definitely a bad day for Lonzo shooting-wise, going 2-15 from the field and 1-11 from beyond the arc. The silver lining about his debut is that we saw the court vision that he advertised in UCLA. First play of the game, the alley oop to Brandon Ingram set the tone that he's gonna get his teammates involved early on. And that alley oop is one out of many more to come from that duo. Another observation is that players are alert when Lonzo's on the floor. When he has the ball in his hands on the open court, he's gonna put a lot of heat on his passing. So, I liked that he had players on high alert. He's a pass first guy as advertised, but maybe a little too passive in his debut tonight. There were some sequences down the stretch where he could've gone strong to the hole, but he passed up on the shots that were given to him. The missed three pointers were unfortunate. My brother and I were groaning on the TV during OT as Ball was hitting nothing, but rim. He's capable of hitting the NBA range three, but just a rough outing from Ball tonight.

2nd Round Steal Alert: Thomas Bryant

What a game for the 2nd round pick! 13 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. I am beyond impressed with the hustle and energy I saw from Thomas Bryant. He is as advertised in what I got out of his game relating to the fact that he's a rim rocker and he's a big that can shoot the three. Going back to his hustle and energy, he never released his foot off the gas the whole game. Scoring, giving the Lakers 2nd chance opportunities on the boards, I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be a fan favorite. His performance tonight could earn him that spot.

Conclusion

Overall, I liked what I saw from the Summer League squad tonight. Despite the loss, we saw a lot of potential flashed on that court. We just need to see a little more assertiveness from key players. Yes, Lonzo Ball included. But, this is something you expect out of rookies. Brandon Ingram went through the same process last year, getting a feel of the game. Ball is doing the same. We just have to exhale that this is not a regular season NBA game. At the same time, expectations will be leveled down a little bit after tonight. The Lakers are back in action again tomorrow night against the Celtics. Even though it's a summer league game, Lakers-Celtics is always a hot ticket. Let's see how tonight's performance from the players carry over to tomorrow off back-to-back sets.