The Los Angeles Lakers played their second preseason game in as many nights when they took on the Dallas Mavericks in Las Vegas on Wednesday. They decided to be extremely cautious with the workload of their regular rotation players and sat out Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and Bronny James.
Still, they came out with guns blazing and built as much as a 17-point lead early in the third quarter as their junior varsity squad executed well and got hot. But that excellent offense evaporated starting in the third period, and Los Angeles was dominated in the final quarter, 37-8, resulting in a 121-94.
Overall, the team shot 39.5% from the field and allowed the Mavericks to hit 50.6% of their shots. But these three players looked fairly good for L.A. despite the lopsided loss.
Gabe Vincent
Vincent was as hot as Las Vegas on a July afternoon to start this game. He was shooting the basketball well in the preseason coming into Wednesday’s game, but against the Mavericks, he took things to a much higher level.
He hit each of his first five 3-pointers of the game and had 18 of the Lakers’ first 20 points. Overall, he went 6-of-11 from downtown and finished with 22 points and three assists in 25 minutes.
Vincent needs to become a consistent 3-point shooter for the Lakers. Doing so would greatly help, as he is a strong and gritty defender, and it would render him an asset rather than a potential liability when he’s on the court.
Jarred Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt did a little bit of several things on Wednesday. He had five points, seven rebounds, four assists and one block in just 13 minutes, and he even hit one 3-pointer in two attempts.
It is looking like coach JJ Redick wants to utilize Vanderbilt as a push man in transition. In that role, he was able to make some nifty passes against Phoenix and help the Lakers create some pace. Given how limited he is offensively, it may be the only way to make him a contributor on that end of the floor.
Rui Hachimura
Hachimura continued his fine play in the preseason on Wednesday. He went 9-of-18 from the field and scored 19 points, although he knocked down only one of his six 3-point attempts.
With LeBron James expected to be out for at least the next few weeks due to sciatica, Hachimura will need to step up and be utilized more offensively. Based on how he has played in the exhibition season, it looks like he’s certainly ready to do just that and help L.A. get off to a strong start during the regular season.
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