Hot Takes on Lakers' Hood-Schifino vs. Spurs with Scottie Pippen Jr., Wembanyama Out

Jalen Hood-Schifino struggled at times in his California Classic debut on Monday, shooting 6-of-19 from the floor, though he still put up 15 points, five rebounds and four assists in a 107-90 loss against the Miami Heat.

And while the Lakers fell to 0-2 in Summer League action after a 109-99 defeat against the San Antonio Spurs (2-0) on Wednesday, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft looked far more comfortable.

Hood-Schifino shot a more efficient 8-of-17 from the field, finishing with 20 points, four assists and three rebounds.

And that earned him plenty of plaudits from NBA Twitter during and after the game:

While Hood-Schifino was doing his thing, Spurs guard Malaki Branham led all scorers with 32 points, while Julian Champagnie added 28 points.

Max Christie paced the Lakers with 25 points.

But Lakers fans wanted to see Hood-Schifino in action again, and he impressed.

While he's probably a long shot to see many minutes as a rookie barring injury—the Lakers have players like LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Taurean Prince, Cam Reddish and Christie available on the wing and D'Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent will see the minutes at point guard—Hood-Schifino has the length, athleticism and playmaking ability to eventually work his way into a rotational role as his career progresses.

Much will come down to his perimeter shooting. He struggled from three in this game, finishing 0-of-4 from beyond the arc. That is obviously a concern, but also a part of his game that can be improved.

Regardless, Lakers fans have to be pleased with the performance they saw on Wednesday.