LAS VEGAS – It took the Los Angeles Lakers four games and a 560 mile flight down from Sacramento, California to Las Vegas, Nevada, but the purple and gold secured their first victory in this year's NBA Summer League on Saturday night. With nearly 10,000 fans on hand, the Lakers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers, 96-79, in what essentially turned out to be a home game for them.
Second-year guard/forward Josh Hart led the way for the young Lakers with a game-high 24 points, two rebounds, and three assists in 26 minutes of action on an efficient 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. For Hart, things seemed to come relatively easy and the Sixers players were often left helpless defensively.
After the game, Hart touched on his game and what he's getting out of Summer League this time around as opposed to last year, when it was all about Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma.
“Obviously this a little bit different than last year,” said Hart. “I know a little bit more, but my biggest thing is just to go out there and help these guys. Just to kind of show everyone else, and even myself, what I've been working on. At the end of the day, the biggest thing is going out and winning. Whether I have 2 points or 24 points, if we win, I'm happy about it.”
Hart may not be the oldest player on the team, but aside from forward Jeff Ayres, he's the one with the most experience at the highest level and that's something he's using to help mentor his less experienced teammates as well as guide them to wins.
As everyone knows, however, things are changing for the Lakers. The run of futility with five straight playoff-less seasons averaging 25 wins per season is likely over with the arrival of the best basketball player on the planet, LeBron James. Thus far in the offseason, the Lakers have shifted from a very young squad to an elite team with a great mix of veteran talent, hard-nosed players, youth, and athleticism.
With so many new players coming in, there's a good chance some of the younger players don't get to see as much playing time moving forward. Hart knows that, and he's trying to prove to everybody within the Lakers organization that he's earned minutes on the floor.
“I'm still trying to earn time,” added Hart. “I'm still trying to earn minutes. Going out here, I've been working my butt off for the last couple of months and I want to show my coaches and my teammates that I've gotten better since April. Just because I played in the league for one year, started some games, and I had some games I played big minutes in, that doesn't really mean anything right now. That was last season. I'm still fighting for minutes, fighting for time, and I'm just trying to get some momentum here and it can carry on into the season.”
In the games that Hart has played so far in this Summer League, he's shown that he's leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. That will likely lead to him sitting out most if not the remainder of the Lakers' games in Las Vegas as they try to incorporate less experienced guys into the rotations.
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