Hot Takes on Lakers' Jalen Hood-Schifino, Figueroa vs. Grizzlies as Pippen Jr. Sits
The penultimate game of the 2023 NBA summer league regular season for the Los Angeles Lakers was one they would like to forget after a 100-69 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies at the Thomas & Mack Center on Friday night.
Scotty Pippen Jr., who showed a lot of promise as a rookie last summer, has yet to play in Las Vegas. He was dealing with a sprained ankle two weeks ago during the California Classic.
As for the players who were on the court, it was a rough night for Jalen Hood-Schifino. The 2023 first-round pick scored eight points on 3-of-17 shooting with five rebounds in 27 minutes.
Needless to say, the reaction from Lakers fans at that stat line was not one of calm and reason.
Any panic over Hood-Schifino at this point is completely over the top. He's a 20-year-old rookie playing in his first professional games. It's unlikely he will crack the team's rotation during the 2023-24 regular season because they have a deep roster and are trying to win a title, but his development in the G League will be huge for the long-term outlook of the franchise.
There was some good news off the Lakers' bench. L.J. Figueroa provided one of the best highlights from the entire Summer League season with his putback dunk off a Cole Swider missed three.
Figueroa was the Lakers' best player on Friday night with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting and five rebounds in just 13 minutes. The 25-year-old is attempting to work his way back to the NBA after signing with Grises de Humacao of the Puerto Rican League in April.
The Lakers are 2-2 in Vegas summer league after Friday's loss. Their final regular-season contest is against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
