Takeaway No. 4: G Leaguers Step Up
The Lakers have quite a collection of young talent. It is one of the positives to how poorly the team has played in recent seasons. With injuries and roster shakeups leaving opportunities for playing time, some of those youngsters have taken advantage. On the road trip, we saw two more show up.
Ivica Zubac showed some flashes during his rookie season. However, there wasn’t a spot in the rotation for him as the Lakers acquired Brook Lopez and signed Andrew Bogut. Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. were also playing some center. With two of those players no longer on the roster, and Randle dominating at power forward, Zubac received some minutes on the trip and played well.
Zubac has played double-digit minutes in six consecutive games after playing double-digit minutes only twice previously. In those six games, he scored double-figures three times. Zubac has potential and is getting a chance to show it in recent games.
The other G Leaguer to help the Lakers on the trip was Travis Wear. Wear signed a 10-day contract with the Lakers over the weekend. Luke Walton didn’t waste any time getting him into the lineup, as Wear played crunch time minutes in the come from behind victory over the Spurs. Wear scored seven points with two rebounds in 13 minutes in his Lakers debut.
Seeing the Lakers less heralded, young players help get wins is awesome to see. They are making the most of their opportunities given to them, making the Lakers an even more attractive place for free agents to consider.