South Bay Lakers head to NBA G League Winter Showcase
The South Bay Lakers extended their winning record last week and are now ranked fifth in the G League Western Conference.
With all three games at home and a very strong home record, the South Bay Lakers were able to win two of their three games. Gary Payton II’s outstanding performances in all three games earned him the NBA G League Player of the Week.
Starting on Tuesday, December 10, they faced the Santa Cruz Warriors. The game remained fairly close for the duration, however, South Bay’s consistency across all four quarters led them to a win.
Jeremy Pargo stood out for the Warriors, scoring 37 points. Fortunately, two-way Warriors, Ky Bowman and Damion Lee, were inactive. However, in the next meeting, the Lakers may not have that same advantage.
The Lakers saw a better distribution of scoring on their end. Payton locked in his fourth consecutive double-double, with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Devontae Cacok, who recently switched over to a well-earned two-way contract, also grabbed his consistent double-double, putting up 21 points and 11 rebounds.
While the Los Angeles Lakers have done anything but struggle thus far this season, Cacok will absolutely be a helpful addition to their artillery, especially if injuries become a burden.
Next, the Northern Arizona Suns came out west. The Suns are the worst-ranked team in the entire league, with two wins and 12 loses.
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What seemed to separate the two teams were offensive speed. The Lakers were able to get off 97 shots, and with a team shooting percentage of 52, they secured the second win of the week. Out rebounding the Suns 47 to 33 was also a huge factor.
Still showing up to put in work, Suns’ Daxter Miles Jr. had 27 points, Aaron Epps had 18 and Ahmed Hill dropped 17. Jared Harper, who is typically a top scorer for the Suns, was 1-for-10 from beyond the arc, unhelpful.
The Lakers, however, only used six members of their roster to compete. Payton carried a huge chunk of the scoring again, with 37 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. To no surprise, Cacok joined Payton’s double-double with his own, scoring 19 points and collecting 15 rebounds. The two teams will face again at the end of December.
The final matchup of the week was against the Stockton Kings, an unfortunate loss. The Lakers were able to dig themselves out of a double-digit deficit, but not long enough to lock in the win. The Kings had four players score over 20 points, two of which had double-doubles. Payton, per usual, double-doubled with 25 points and 10 assists. Cacok did the same, with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Upcoming, the Lakers will play the Kings again on Tuesday, December 17, in Stockton, CA. Avoiding digging themselves into a hole will be critical for the Lakers, as the Kings will work hard to prevent any comeback attempts again.
After that, the team will head to Las Vegas for the MGM Resorts’ NBA G League Winter Showcase. The tournament will be formatted different from previous seasons, with a Champion’s Bracket and six additional brackets, all based on league ranking. The prize is still $100,000, but the games will count toward the teams’ regular-season records.
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The Lakers’ first tournament game is Thursday, December 19, versus the Lakeland Magic.