The Los Angeles Lakers began summer ball with a 107-90 loss to the Miami Heat at the California Classic. They'll face the San Antonio Spurs (sans Victor Wembanyama) on Wednesday before heading to Las Vegas for the NBA 2K24 Summer League, beginning on Friday.

Overall, the Lakers' defense was a bit of a mess — especially inside — and they were sloppy with the basketball (17 turnovers). Miami shot 15-for-33 from 3 compared to 5-for-24 from Los Angeles.

“Like I told a lot of our young guys, it’s their first game. It’s going to take some bumps and bruises,” said the Lakers summer head coach, JD DuBois. “The process doesn’t change, win or lose. We got better from the first half to the second. Now we can get better from game one to game two.”=

Despite the loss, a handful of players displayed impressive individual flashes of skill, notably Max Christie, 2023 first-round pick Jalen Hood-Schifino, and center Colin Castleton.

Here are a few takeaways from Monday's game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Max Christie

Christie led the Lakers with 17 points (6-for-11 shooting), 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. He expectedly looked like the most seasoned player on the floor and seamlessly scored from all three levels — rim attacks, step-back jumpers, midrange moves, off-the-dribble creation, and he splashed a 3.

Christie was one of the few Lakers' bright spots defensively, hanging tough when switched onto Nikola Jovic and Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Christie should be among the best players in Vegas as he strives to become a mainstay in the Lakers' rotation.

Jalen Hood-Schifino

Hood-Schifino shot 6-of-19 from the field but finished with 15 points and 4 assists (he got going a bit in the third quarter). His size, versatility, and IQ were evident. The Lakers primarily consider the 6'17, 215-pound 20-year-old as a point guard, and it was easy to see why. He clearly has a nifty handle and an instinctual knack for pace. He knows how to deploy different shakes and speeds to sink into the defense and play-make. He showed off his float game (a strength) and converted a few tough takes to the cup.

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His lateral quickness on defense remains a question mark: he struggled to stay in front of defenders.

Hood-Schifino's fellow draft classmate, Maxwell Lewis, had a quiet debut, going 2-for-4 from the field. He did find Castleton on a sweet dime.

I'd expect we see plenty of flashes of Lewis' big-time bounce and sharpshooting throughout Summer League, especially in his hometown of Vegas.

Two-way guys

Prior to tip-off, the Lakers officially signed Castleton and D'Moi Hodge to two of their three available two-way contracts. Cole Swider's two-way deal runs through 2023-24. (Scotty Pippen Jr., who is no longer on a two-way, is on the Lakers summer roster but was a DNP on Monday due to a sprained ankle.)

Castleton — an elite rim-protector and interior defender in college — got posterized by Jaquez Jr., picked up six fouls, and was handled by Jovic (21 points, 7-for-12 FG) underneath. Still, he finished with 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting, 4 rebounds, and a block. He smoothly moved around the court, including in transition.

It's not out of the realm of possibility that Castleton could end up seeing minutes for the Lakers this season (or even earning their 15th roster spot).

D'Moi Hodge — an on-ball defensive hound who won Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year and, along with Castleton, was one of the SEC's best defenders in 2022-23 – showed off those chops with an aggressive pick-and-score in the first half. The 6'4 guard, who shot 40% from 3 on high-volume for Missouri last year, was 1-for-4 from deep.

Swider finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds and hit 3-of-6 from downtown. He led the 2022 Lakers Summer League team in scoring (15.6 PPG) and 3-point attempts (7.6).