Marcelo Huertas made his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers in their shortened 85-70 win over the the Golden State Warriors. Playing for the entire second quarter he took over the game. Here’s a break down of all the good things he was able to do, with a few things for the 32 year old rookie to work.
Huertas opened the game with a beautiful runner that kissed off the glass. His first points in the NBA already have people making comparisons to legends. Isn’t preseason great!
He followed that runner up with another. This one filled the arena with that sweet swish sound. These were ultimately Huertas only four points of the game, but he showed plenty of promise in other areas.
The passes that Huertas threw around the court showed why the Lakers brought him to the NBA. He showed off everything fans could hope for, from crazy angle highlight passes, to cross court passes to open shooters, and some nice down low passes in tight spacing.
Marcelo fires the bullet pass into the corner, which winds up as another #Swaggy3. Sacre follows with a two-handed jam. Offense is cooking.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 18, 2015
While certain Lakers bigs struggled to catch his quick passes down low (cough, Robert Sacre, cough) he managed six assists in twelve minutes off these plays, and he could have had a few more.
That's 4 points and 6 assists for @Huertas09 in his first quarter of preseason action. pic.twitter.com/XDG8MCB2ap
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 18, 2015
Outside of the scoreboard, the brightest spot of Huertas’s game was that in twelve minutes of quarterbacking the offense he only had one turnover. While he brings the experience of a 32 year old, fans must still remember that he is a rookie who is experiencing NBA defenses for the first time. Controlling the ball for so long and only giving it away once is something everyone should be inspired by.
Already seen enough to know Huertas should make the team. More than I can say for Sacre and Jabari Brown, fwiw.
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) October 18, 2015
Fans should also be excited about a Lakers squad with Huertas as the third option behind D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson. Point guard is easily their deepest position and hopefully one that is now set for the next few years.
Unfortunately, Huertas did have some struggles in his debut. While he ran the offense like a seasoned pro, the other side of the court, and the area in between, were a different story.
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To be fair to Huertas, it could have been much worse. He showed a willingness to help down low on defense, and seemed surprisingly effective in the small sample size.
But it was far from perfect. He struggled keeping up with Curry when they shared the floor, giving him to much space off a screen that lead to a three pointer from the MVP on one memorable play.
He also struggled with running in transition. Through twelve minutes, Huertas does not appear to be the fastest player on the team. He got burned early in the quarter, giving the Warriors two easy points in transition. The Lakers dominated for much of the rest of the quarter, limiting the fast break opportunities for Golden State.
Warriors want time after the Lakers go on a 14-5 run to take a 58-51 lead.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) October 18, 2015
Unfortunately his flaws in transition still came through.
When the Lakers went on fast breaks with a different ball handler, Huertas was noticeably lagging behind the play. While this could just be a symptom from a lack of interest in preseason, or rust from his recent injury, fans should hope for more effort out of a player who showed so much promise.
In his debut, Huertas gave Lakers fans hope for this season and the future.
Difference btw Russ & Huertas is about 13 years of experience. The latter has seen every situation & plays like it. Russ will get there too.
— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) October 18, 2015
After a couple sad years, Lakers fans deserve this feeling. Go crazy guys, even if it is preseason.
Is Marcelo Huertas the best point guard ever or merely the best point guard alive? Discuss. AK
— Kamenetzky Brothers (@KamBrothers) October 18, 2015
Should Marcelo make the final roster? Let us know what you thought about Huertas’ debut in the comments below.