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LAS VEGAS – For the first time in many years, the NBA's Summer League does not appear to be the culmination of the Los Angeles Lakers season.
The last two summers, Lakers fans flock to Las Vegas. The success of the teams led by Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, two overall selections, contrasts with the Lakers' futility during the regular season. Last July, Ball and his other first-round pick, Kyle Kuzma, led the Lakers to the NBA's summer league championship, the only title that one of the league's biggest teams recently won
. , the arrival of LeBron James via a free agency has made the Lakers regular season lineup much more convincing. And since the Lakers have finally sent their own lottery selection to the Philadelphia 76ers to complete the distant sign-and-trade for Steve Nash, the No. 25 pick Moritz Wagner is the most prominent rookie of the this summer. Still, L.A. has always started 3-0, extending the team's winning streak in Las Vegas to nine consecutive games.
The rookie leader of Atlanta struggled with his shot in the summer league.
Get the latest news on this rookie class from our experts in Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Summer League.
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Now the question is not whether the Lakers can find their next superstar in the summer league, but instead the kind of players they will need to surround James – and maybe another All-Star added over the next year.
This list begins with Josh Hart, the least announced The three first-round picks of the Lakers in 2017, but a strong contributor as a rookie nonetheless. Hart first told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN that he wanted to "dominate" this summer. That's exactly what Hart did in the 109-92 win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
Hart's most obvious contribution was 27 points. He started up by scoring 11 points in 4-in-5 in the first quarter, and was able to compensate for an unusually mediocre three-point shot (4-in-12 over-arch) in reaching the free throw line. 10 times and doing seven of these attempts. Improvement in ball practice helped Hart demonstrate that he was able to do more than play the rookie role in 3-D.
Make no mistake, Hart always excels in the defensive part of this role. After Knicks rookie Kevin Knox warmed up in the third quarter, scoring four of his three-point attempts and scoring 16 of his best 29 points in the game, Hart asked to return to the match to calm him down. Knox only had two points in the fourth quarter in the fourth quarter when the Lakers retired.
Second-round pick Svi Mykhailiuk also played a key role in this series, after Hart's 3 with two of his own backs. back in the course of a 16-0 Lakers race. Within an unenlightened team, Mykhailiuk could play a role if he can maintain or improve his 37 points of three-point shooting this summer.
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Lakers rookie Moe Wagner tries to work on a screen and twists his ankle on the shoe of a defender. Wagner would stand aside.
As for Wagner, he played only nine minutes Tuesday before leaving because of a sprained left ankle and a knee strain. However, in this period as all summer, Wagner impressed on the glass. He lowered 13.4 rebounds by 36 minutes right up here, a dramatic improvement on the Wagner average of 9.3 in that period in Michigan last season.
Wagner shows the ability to grab difficult boards in traffic, and his low shooting percentages this summer (43% over 2s, 28% over 3s) give a misleading impression of his offensive talent. With JaVale McGee, the only Lakers addition to the center, Wagner is fighting at this point against Ivica Zubac for a few minutes in the middle as the only option of Team 5.
The other two Lakers under contract for 2018 -19 seem less likely to contribute next season. Goalkeeper Alex Caruso, who won a two-man contract with his solid game in Las Vegas last summer, was pushed into the depth chart by Rajon Rondo. Caruso offers the Lakers a third reputable guard, which means they do not need to spend a reserved place on the NBA position.
There is also the other choice of the second round of the Lakers, 18-year-old German wing. Isaac Bonga. Although the Lakers brought him to the NBA rather than putting him abroad, Bonga – who, like Mykhailiuk, signed a three-year contract that is not fully guaranteed – is a long-term project. At 6-foot-9, Bonga played the playmaker in Germany, and the Lakers are intrigued by his combination of size, length and ball ability. But Bonga is a non-shooter at this stage, and his decision-making needs to improve with the experience.
Unlike the past few summers, the list of regular season Lakers will not have a strong resemblance to the one we see in Vegas this year. Nevertheless, a handful of contributors might be able to translate what they did in the NBA summer league this fall. – Kevin Pelton
Next match on the bill: July 11
Hawks vs. Pacers, 8:30 pm ET
Trae Young of Atlanta teams up with Aaron Holiday of Indiana in a battle of two of the best goalkeepers in college basketball last season. The two underrated guards have prolifically scored during the summer league until now, even though they have sometimes experienced some effectiveness.
Second-year player John Collins has sometimes dominated the Hawks. progress with his three-point shot, hitting 5 out of 10 attempts so far. And the second round choice of Indiana Alize Johnson has brought tremendous energy. He will likely play a major role in slowing the big men of Atlanta in this opening match of the summer league knockout tournament. – Jonathan Givony
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