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Lakers: D-League D-Fenders Show Off Talent

Shereen Rayan|

Good things are in the works despite two losses for the Lakers’ D-League team, the D-Fenders

The Austin Spurs are one of the best teams in the NBA D-League with a record of 9-2, ranking No. 1 in the Southwest Division whereas the Los Angeles D-Fenders are currently 6-6 and ranked No. 2 in the Pacific Division. These two teams faced off twice this past weekend.

Attending a D-Fenders game is quite a unique experience. Games are played in the far back of the Toyota Sports Center, the Lakers practice facility, which also houses the Los Angeles Kings practice facility and an extra skating rink for recreation and competitive skating. Basically, it’s a madhouse with kids everywhere; you would never know there are potential future NBA stars playing some very exciting basketball under the same roof.

There are five rows of chairs, the floor seats, two rows of VIP seats, then the four rows of General Admission seats. Fans can hear almost everything said on the court and the players can also hear what the fans are saying. In fact, players’ friends and family come to watch the team and there are frequent interactions between the two parties during stoppages.

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For basketball fans who come to watch professional basketball players eager to show coaches they deserve a spot on an NBA team, they aren’t disappointed. The D-Fenders are legit A-team entertainment along with the music and intimacy of the venue, there is plenty of entertainment for ticket holders.

Anthony Brown was not on the bench for the D-Fenders as he’s currently on the Lakers roster. Robert Upshaw is on the roster and he started out on the bench. Each time he subbed in, he committed a foul within 10 seconds.

The Lakers rookie small forward showed some moments of power and brilliance, but his foul trouble kept him on the bench for a while. He seems comfortable with his surroundings during a game; you can catch him dancing to the interim music at times as well as cheering very demonstratively on the bench. It’s fun to watch, but fans want to see more of him on the court than how well he can cheer:

Three players stood out during the game, which was very close for most of the competition. You expected the Austin Spurs to play as the San Antonio Spurs do and pass the ball like the Iron Chefs of the NBA—cutting, slicing, passing and shooting. They did shoot a lot, but there were misses on both sides of the court. It wasn’t until the last three minutes of the game, when the Spurs pulled away from the D-Fenders, that fans were treated to some fundamental pass-centric Spurs offense.

Vander Blue, Justin Harper, Jamaal Franklin and Michael Frazier all stood out for LA. Blue spent time with the Lakers in the 2014-15 season beginning in April 2015 before joining the D-Fenders for this season. At the beginning of the second half, Blue couldn’t miss. He recorded 27 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. What was most impressive is that he hit 5-8 on his three-pointers, hitting some at opportune times. Blue helped the D-Fenders fight back to compete towards the end of the game, but then went cold.

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Harper was also clutch during the end of the game, getting fouled while shooting a three to bring the D-Fenders back to within a few points with minutes left and making all three free-throws. Harper played with a lot of concentration and hustle on defense.

Missing from the lineup was D-Fender guard Josh Magette, who ranks No. 1 in assists and steals in the league; no other D-Fender ranks in the top-five in any other category.

Lakers management wanted to win the second game played on Sunday against the Austin Spurs, so they added three Lakers to the roster for the night: Ryan Kelly, Tarik Black, and Brown. This caused Blue to take a bit of a backseat in the sequel. Kelly, who self-reportedly plays a different style of basketball with the D-Fenders, played 38 minutes scoring 34 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and dishing out four assists.

In his first D-League game, Black scored 19 points early on and ended up fouling out after 32 minutes that included some exciting dunks. Brown never found his sweet spot, but still scored 10 points. Despite adding these three Lakers assignees, the D-Fenders still couldn’t top the league-best Spurs.

All things considered, the D-Fenders held their own in back-to-back games against the top-ranked Spurs. Adding the three Lakers to the roster in the second game should have done the trick, but may have disrupted the synergy of the team who played better as a team in the previous game. The Lakers players did prove they can play at a high level and the future looks good if the Lakers need to bring up any players from the D-League.

Next: Lakers: 20 Greatest Individual Performances in Franchise History

Lakers fans should definitely check out the D-Fenders, it is great entertainment in an intimate setting, and the tickets are as low as $25 for third row seats. For $40, you can catch an errant pass, and for $100 you can reach out and touch a player or have one fall in your lap (which did happen on Friday night.) So come on down to El Segundo and catch the action.

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