Lakers Summer League: 3 Takeaways From Lakers vs New Orleans Pelicans

Day one of Las Vegas Summer League is finally finished and the Los Angeles Lakers have a ton to be excited about going forward

Playing the Buddy Hield led New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night in game one of Las Vegas Summer League, the young Los Angeles Lakers showed exactly what fans were hoping for heading into the offseason.

Despite not making any big moves in free agency, hopes were still sky high for the team’s young core and they didn’t disappoint in their debut winning by a score of 85-65. Here are three quick takeaways from the game.

D’Angelo Russell Shows Leadership Potential

With Kobe Bryant gone, the league was finally able to see what Lakers would look like moving forward and the results were impressive to say the least. One of the first things I noticed was D’Angelo Russell‘s obvious role as leader of the Summer League squad.

Dominating the ball for the majority of the time he was on the court, Russell showed his rebounding ability and improved post up skills quickly settling in as the primary scorer. Coming into the league, many thought that Russell would be a pass first guard on account of his various passing highlights at Ohio State, but he’s shown clearly that he’s a scorer first.

Finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and three steals, Russell demonstrated that he is definitely in a different league than the competition.

Ivica Zubac Could Be Another Steal for LA

At his introductory presser, Zubac revealed that he just wants to come in and prove his doubters wrong because he knows expectations for him aren’t necessarily high and he did just that on Friday.

While he may be a half-a-step slow on some rotations, which translates to being over a step slow during regular season, Zubac showed that he is a formidable rim protector, finishing with three blocks, and that he can score in the post. Moreover, he can convert his free throws when hacked down there.

ZuBlock has a while to go before being NBA ready but he represents yet another promising prospect for the Purple and Gold.

Brandon Ingram Shows Flashes Of Greatness

My initial impression of Ingram was harsh, due to my high expectations having been on Team Ingram from the start of last season, but in hindsight for his first game he did exactly what he needed to do.

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Initially, with Russell dominating the ball to start the game, Ingram looked nonchalant but he had flashes of greatness throughout the game that reinforced exactly why the Lakers drafted him.

Showing off his ability to hit perimeter jumpers, handle the ball, finish strong at the rim and protect the paint on the other end, Ingram is truly a basketball Swiss Army Knife.

During his interviews, Ingram made it a point that he would focus on being a vocal leader and more aggressive than he was at Duke, so those are things he must work on going forward.

Tomorrow represents another chance to do just that against the Philadelphia 76ers and first overall pick, Ben Simmons.

Next: Lakers Summer League 2016: 5 Things To Watch

Other Quick Takeaways: Larry Nance Jr has definitely been working on his outside shot and looks healthy, a poster is imminent, and Anthony Brown made Buddy Hield‘s night a living hell with his lockdown D.