2. Jalen Hood-Schifino’s Lakers stock plummeted during the preseason
Jalen Hood-Schifino did not look NBA-ready at all in the preseason. After having some promising moments in the Summer League, Hood-Schifino looked every part of a 20-year-old rookie who was not used to the NBA brand of basketball.
Quite frankly, this should not be surprising at all to Lakers fans. Hood-Schifino’s struggles in his first-ever preseason were predictable and it was too lofty of expectations that caused fans to turn on JHS before his first-career regular-season game.
Many Lakers fans expected too much out of a rookie who was taken outside of the lottery and is still only 20 years old. Hood-Schifino was never meant to be a consistent member of this year’s rotation as the Lakers are taking the long-term approach with him. Heck, JHS will likely see more playing time with the South Bay Lakers than the Los Angeles Lakers.
That always seemed to be the plan for the Lake Show but it does not change the fact that fans look at Hood-Schifino differently now than they did a month ago. It is yet another reminder that sometimes as fans we tend to overrate our own team’s draft picks before they even step on the court.
That is not to say that JHS won’t work out, but if he does, it is going to happen a year or two in the future. Not this season.