South Bay Lakers: Playing with heart, winning games

We are 16 games into the South Bay Lakers 2018 season and we are already seeing a lot of heart on the court.

I am always impressed by players who play with heart and the South Bay Lakers have plenty of them. Going after loose balls, going after missed shots, getting their hands on the ball or in their opponents face is what I enjoy the most.

Those players who want to win at any cost make the game fun. There are a several South Bay Lakers who fit the bill.

Scott Machado (Scottie) is a point guard who any team would want leading their team. He is scrappy, a distributor and wants to win more than anything else. He frequently puts the team on his back and that’s why Coach Karl plays him in the final minutes of every game.

Jemerrio Jones (JJ) wears a headband. That’s because he works so hard, he needs to keep the sweat out of his eyes. This forward is frequently seen flying around the court defending his opponents and rebounding for second-chance points.

More from Lake Show Life

• Darvin Ham adds to Max Christie hype train after Lakers preseason opener
• Is LeBron James playing tonight? Latest Lakers vs Warriors update
• Can Darvin Ham put all of the Lakers puzzle pieces together?
• Lakers news: Darvin Ham knows his fifth starter, LeBron James and Rui Hachimura, Jalen Hood-Schifino praise
• Michael Malone’s painfully ironic comment has Lakers fans heated

Even though he is a forward, he seems to enjoy playing point guard, often taking the ball up the court. He loves to have the ball in his hands. It’s sometimes like he is married to the basketball and doesn’t want anyone else to have it.

Alex Caruso (AC) just plain makes things happen on the court and off the court on the bench. He knows what’s going on every second of every game and he is a part of it. Whether it’s a dunk or 3-pointer or dishing the ball to the open man, AC plays with 110% effort. He even gets his bench going. You can say he’s an assistant coach.

Andre Ingram, you can’t say enough about this man. Ingram plays with ice in his veins and hits clutch shots when you need him to. He proved his worth playing up with the Lakers for the remainder of the 2017-18 season. He averaged 12 points, three rebounds and 3.5 assists shooting 47.1 percent on his field goal attempts and 55.6 percent from the 3-point line in just two games.

Ingram is about a year younger than LeBron James, but for some reason one is in his prime and one is not. Go figure. Andre hasn’t lost it and made a sweet floater to beat the Bayhawks with seconds left. Here are his highlights:

South Bay has won two in a row. They first beat the No.1 team in the Pacific Division, the Santa Cruz Warriors, 120-119 in the final seconds.

The team then went on the next night to beat the Erie Bayhawks by nine points, 127-118, bringing their record back to .500 (8-8). They are on roll and have been a stronger team since the return of Travis Wear. Wear has been a scoring machine, playing not only with heart but a ton of fire.

This Thursday, December 13th, South Bay will take on the league’s newest team, the Capital City Go-Go. Don’t miss these games they have truly been a joy to watch.