Mike Trudell

The Lakers defeated the Clippers 83-72 behind a strong fourth quarter in which they outscored LAC 21-10. Below is a summary of the action:

FIRST QUARTER8:03:&nbsp;The Lakers jumped out to a 6-0 lead with buckets from Nate Pierre-Louis, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Pierre-Louis again. LAL was hitting the offensive glass early, with starting center Sacha Killeya-Jones (in again for Jay Huff, who remained in health and safety protocols) grabbing two on one possession.

4:21:&nbsp;The Clippers found an early answer, however, and outscored the Lakers 17-3 over the next four minutes to take an eight-point lead. Pippen Jr. trimmed into the margin at the foul line, continuing perhaps his best skill at Vanderbilt, as he hit three of four freebies.

0:35.0:&nbsp;L.A. have had some good continuity off the bench in Vegas and in San Francisco last week, anchored by South Bay Lakers Mason Jones and Paris Bass, who each scored a bucket in the final two minutes of the quarter to keep the Clippers within reach, at 27-19.

SECOND QUARTER5:49:&nbsp;Cole Swider, who came into this game shooting 53.3 percent from three, making 4.0 per game on 7.5 attempts, hit his first triple of the evening to trim LAC’s lead to three at 33-30.

4:49:&nbsp;The Clippers responded once again, however, with an 11-1 push that included a pair of three-pointers, enough to make it 41-32. The Lakers would cut into that margin ahead of the half.

0:00:&nbsp;Max Christie hit a three to beat the first half buzzer, after starting the game 0 for 5, to trim the margin to 46-43. Christie continued the strong defense that’s already a staple of his game, as he still adjusts offensively to bigger, faster opponents, which will of course go up another level as he sees NBA players in the regular season.

THIRD QUARTER9:00: Just as they started the game on a 6-0 run, LAL matched it to open the third quarter, allowing a 49-46 lead as Christie hit a contested layup.

3:17:&nbsp;Javante McCoy has impressed with his scoring ability throughout the summer, which he showcased while hitting his fourth shot in six attempts, to reach eight bench points, to tie the game at 57.

0:00:&nbsp;A strong bench effort from the Lakers continued through the end of the period, with Paris Bass and, especially, Jones making an impact. Jones led the Lakers in scoring (11), rebounding (seven) and assists (three, tied with Pippen Jr), with Bass reaching seven points on top of McCoy’s eight. That helped the Lakers go into the fourth quarter at 62-all, despite a slow shooting night from the starters (14 for 34) to that point.

FOURTH QUARTER5:50:&nbsp;L.A. picked things up defensively early in the fourth quarter, holding the Clippers to just three points in the first four minutes. They weren’t much better offensively, managing six points, but that delivered a 68-65 lead nonetheless. After LAC managed one free throw, Swider responded with his second triple of the night to put LAL up five.

4:51:&nbsp;After yet another stop, Swider found Jones on a backdoor cut for a layup that gave the Lakers their biggest lead of the evening. Jones was up to 13 points, and it was Swider’s third assist. The Clippers got a transition layup, their first field goal in several minutes, but Pippen Jr. answered with his first triple to make it 76-68.

2:00:&nbsp;The Clippers finally got something going on the offensive end, scoring on back-to-back possessions to cut LAL’s lead in half, putting some pressure on the Purple and Gold.

0:59.0:&nbsp;Max Christie hit the biggest shot of the game, a 3-pointer coming out of a time out to put the Lakers up 79-72 with 1:41 to play. After a stop, McCoy, continued his strong night with a tough floater to make it 81-72 with 59 seconds left. LAL would add a pair of free throws to emerge with an 11-point victory.Jones finished with 15 points and 10 boards, McCoy 14 points, and Christie eight points to lead the way.

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Lakers 83, Clippers 72: Running Diary from Vegas

After holding leads in the final minute of both regulation and overtime on Sunday evening in Las Vegas, the Lakers lost to Charlotte on a sudden death bucket in double overtime to fall to 0-2 in Sin City.

Sudden death is a summer special in the NBA, and certainly delivers from a dramatic perspective, but the Lakers were on the wrong end of this act as Charlotte’s JT Thor hit a corner three after L.A. failed to score on their first possession of the second extra session.

OT, let alone double OT, did not seem likely for a team that had the ball up 81-75 with 1:19 to play in the fourth quarter.

But Charlotte managed an and-1 layup in transition, then a fastbreak three surrounding a pair of Lakers misses to tie the game. Mason Jones couldn’t get a buzzer-beating attempt to fall, prompting the first overtime session of two minutes (as compared to five in the NBA).

The Lakers seemed to have that one in hand as well, as Jones atoned for his regulation miss with a three that put L.A. up one with 16.2 seconds on the clock. After a stop, Cole Swider hit two free throws to make it an 86-83 lead. But instead of taking a foul to give, L.A. fouled a three-point shooter, and three makes tied the game with just 4.3 seconds left in OT. Jones freed himself for another triple at the buzzer, but that one missed.

It was a game largely controlled by L.A., who started the contest on an 18-6 run, perhaps irked by their Friday-evening loss to Phoenix to kick off the Vegas portion of their summer after a 2-1 performance in the California Classic.

“We responded and showed some resilience,” said Summer League Coach Jordan Ott, new to Darvin Ham’s staff. “We had a mistake at the end (not fouling when up three), but we’ll evaluate it and keep getting better.”

Charlotte did manage to trim that margin to five at the half, and then three after the third quarter, before eventually rallying to take their first lead since early in the game with 7:21 left in the fourth. They continued their push to lead by as many as seven, until Lakers two-way player Cole Swider somehow managed to score eight points in 32 seconds.

The sharpshooter out of Syracuse started the personal run with a technical free throw with 4:45 to play, and followed that up with a 3-pointer to cut the margin to one. Charlotte countered with a three-point possession of their own, only to watch Swider hit an and-1 three from the corner, his fifth triple in eight attempts, to tie the game at 75.

“I was just trying to win,” said Swider, who led the Lakers with 21 points on 6 of 10 FG’s. “It’s tough to win in the NBA, tough to win today, I just want to play my heart out and try to win the game.”

The fourth quarter run continued behind Max Christie, who hit four straight free throws, and then in transition as Nate Pierre-Louis notched his second steal, before dropping off a dime for a transition dunk from Sacha Killeya-Jones to deliver the Lakers their six-point lead with 2:31 to play.

Both teams failed to score in the next 1:30 until the Hornets ran off six straight to force the overtime.

L.A. held Charlotte to 37.3 percent from the field, but after shooting 52.6 percent in the first half themselves, converted only 11 of 37 shots in the second half (29.7 percent) as the Hornets turned things around.

The Lakers forced 23 turnovers in the game for a plus-eight edge in that category, but allowed 13 offensive boards to their seven, and put the Hornets at the line five more times.

Christie and Scotty Pippen Jr. both scored 10 points in their starting roles, with Pippen Jr. adding seven assists and three steals, while Killeya-Jones blocked four shots as he continued to fill in for Jay Huff (health and safety protocols). Jones scored 13 points off the bench, while Shareef O’Neal was active with seven boards and four points in 15 minutes.

Up next is a Tuesday evening contest against the Clippers.

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Lakers Stung By Hornets in Sudden Death 2OT

On Wednesday morning and afternoon, the Lakers introduced three new players, and two former Lakers, one of whom they drafted in 2017, the other having played eight games in Purple and Gold in 2020-21.

Troy Brown, Jr., Lonnie Walker, Damian Jones, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Thomas Bryant each took their turn in front of assembled reporters; below is a look at each player and a summary of their individual presser:

TROY BROWN, JR.Brown, Jr. was the 15th overall pick in 2018 after one year at Oregon. Now, after three seasons with the Wizards, plus last year in Chicago, Brown is still only 22 (July 28 birthday). He had a pre-draft workout with the Lakers, and had some good conversations with them, but went several picks before L.A.’s No. 25 spot.

Though he does have some playmaking and isolation scoring ability, Brown said that in Chicago, he was asked to focus more on the 3 and D elements. As a “team guy” who “wants to win,” Brown embraced that role. Brown thinks of himself as being able to compliment players like LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

“For me the two biggest things are just being able to be reliable on defense, and being able to knock down shots, especially in the corners with guys being able to create so much and being able to get to the basket whenever they want,” he said.

Brown has yet to get big minutes in this still-early part of his career, most recently playing 16 minutes per game off the bench for the Bulls. Half of his 3.9 shot attempts were from three, and he converted 35.3 percent on the season. Encouragingly, Brown shot the ball very well after the All-Star break (18 games), hitting 43.3 percent, compared with 33.0 percent before the break (48).“I definitely think it’s a good fit for me in general,” said Brown of choosing the Lakers. “Being able to come in here and get some length on the defensive side of things, and I’m at the point of my career where I’m shooting the ball a little better. Just being able to be complimentary and being able to do the dirty work for certain guys and being able to take some pressure off some guys will definitely help.”

He's had a few conversations with his new coach, Darvin Ham, already.

“Me and coach have definitely had some talks, about using my length and my size for what’s best for the team,” said Brown. “Talking about pace, being able to get out and play faster even on the defensive end, kind of speed up offense for other teams. Being able to put pressure on guys where we can close out and then get out and run in transition.”

LONNIE WALKER IVLike Brown Jr., Lonnie Walker IV is also still in the early part of his career, at age 23 heading into his fifth season, and his first outside of San Antonio. Walker IV was drafted three picks after Brown, at 18, in 2018.

Walking around his new office, Walker said he paused when he got to the championship trophies, and started sweating, before getting into his expected role.

“I'm very excited for this opportunity,” he explained. “I'm just here to play my part ... I'm adaptable. If it's coming off the bench and that's the best fit, so be it. I'd love to be a starter but that's not up to me. I'm here to win.

"Walker was a consistent part of San Antonio’s rotation in 25.4 minutes per game in 2020-21, and 23.0 per game last season, when he averaged 12.1 points on 40.7 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from three.

“I see my skillset fitting perfectly,” he said. “I’m here to do whatever I can to help the team win. I’m coming here to play defense. Offensively I know I can provide a lot. Defensively, whoever you want me to guard, that’s what I’m here for."

The Reading, Penn. native struggled to hit shots early last season, shooting just 29.4 percent on 4.7 attempts per game, but he found his range after the break, converting 36.7 percent on 6.1 attempts. Asked about his overall down shooting season, he responded: “I kid you not, leave me open, you’re going to see what happens.”

When he did have a rough shooting night, Walker said he went right to the gym: “I stayed with it. I knew sooner or later it was going to turn.”

Walker, at 6’4’’, is more used to defending guards, and hasn’t necessarily sized up as much as Brown, Jr., or Juan Toscano-Anderson might. But Walker IV said he’s comfortable with positions one through three, and that he’s added some weight (215 pounds) in case he needs to hold up against bigger players.

JUAN TOSCANO-ANDERSONWhereas Brown and Walker each got their NBA starts well before they were 20 years old, Juan Toscano-Anderson took a different path. The Oakland, Calif. native played for four years at Marquette before going undrafted in 2015, and then spent the next three seasons playing professionally in Mexico (where he was a two-time champion, and the 2018 MVP) before going to the G League with Golden State’s Santa Cruz affiliate for two seasons.

JTA got called up to the big squad in 2019-20 for 13 games, and then played 20.9 minutes per game in 2020-21, averaging 5.7 points with 4.4 boards and 2.8 assists. His playing time lessoned last season as the Warriors got Klay Thompson back from injury, down to 13.6 mpg in 73 games with six starts.

But when the 29-year-old was on the floor, he could always be counted on to play hard, to do the little things, and to be focused on winning.

“I’m from East Oakland, that’s just who I am,” he said when asked about his mentality. “That’s why I was able to grind my way (to the NBA). I wake up to compete, to play hard. I know what it looks like to be on the outside looking in. And when I say outside, I mean outside the NBA. I’m extremely grateful to have a job in this league … I don’t want nobody to take my job from me. I’m going to wake up and get after it every day. I’m going to compete every day and go out there and try to win every game.”

Toscano-Anderson shot 48.9 percent from the field but just 32.2 percent from three on 1.2 attempts per game, an area where he looks to develop further. But he’ll remain focused defensively regardless.

“It’s one of the bigger things for sure,” he said. “Coach Ham really emphasizes how we’re going to play basketball, how we’re going to be after it.”

At L.A.’s second summer league game in San Francisco over the weekend, JTA walked in wearing a No. 8. Kobe jersey.

“I’m a Kobe fan, that’s my favorite player ever,” he said. “It’s really cool. This is somebody I’ve admired and wanted to be like. I was one of those kids who my teacher was yelling to sit down because I was rolling papers and yelling ‘Kobe!’ This is a small victory for me, even being able to put on a Lakers jersey.”

JTA sees his role as one of support for stars like Kobe. He did that for Steph Curry in Golden State, and now plans to alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis in L.A.

“The unicorns are going to be the unicorns,” he explained. “LeBron is going to be LeBron, AD is going to be AD … the rest of us (need to support them).”

DAMIAN JONESJones was the player who saw two weeks with the squad last season, and who impressed enough to not only stay on the radar, but ultimately be a priority at the center spot in free agency.

In eight games with L.A., Jones made 16 of his 17 shots (94.1 percent) and averaged 5.4 points, 3.3 boards and 0.9 blocks in 14 minutes per game, which translates to 13.8 points, 8.4 boards and 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes.

He said on Wednesday that he expects to fulfill the type of role that JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard were able to when the Lakers won the title in 2019-20.

Bouncy at the rim on both ends, the 27-year-old also has a nice touch to his shot, as he made 71.8 percent of his free throws last season in Sacramento, and 10 of the 29 3’s he attempted (34.5 percent). Though Jones is a typically effective roll man, he may have some real potential in pick-and-pop actions if L.A. want to leave the lane vacant for drives at times.

“I’m feeling pretty comfortable there … it’s there if needed,” said Jones, revealing that how much he rolls or pops will come down to the coaching staff.

THOMAS BRYANTIn 2017, the Lakers made one of the better picks of the second round when they chose young Thomas Bryant at No. 42 overall. Five years later, he’s back.

“It’s super surreal for me to be back,” said Bryant, who’s now 24. “For the Lakers organization to want me back, does a lot for my confidence.”

Though he played only 15 games as a 20-year-old with the Lakers, Bryant impressed with the South Bay Lakers in the G League, and after the Lakers released him, Washington snatched him up. Bryant played 72 games the next season there, and progressed to starting 36 games of 46 games in 2019-20.

He averaged 13.2 points with 7.2 boards and 1.1 blocks plus 40.7 percent 3-point shooting that season, and finished well at the rim as well, to the tune of 58.1 percent from the field overall.

Unfortunately, Bryant suffered a torn ACL in January of 2020 that allowed him only 10 games the next season. He returned to play 27 more games in 2021-22 as the rehabilitation process continued.

Asked about his knee today, Bryant said he feels “100 percent great … not good … great!”

“I knew I was 100 percent back when I didn’t think about it,” he continued. “When I just let the game of basketball take me. I got a couple of dunks … that’s how I knew I was 100 percent. That was during last season, probably the month after I returned to game play (February of 2022).”

“I picked L.A. because there was a certain need and want that I felt from the guys and the coaches,” he concluded. “That was the settling point right there.”

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New Acquisition Roundup

In their third game in four days at the Chase Center in San Francisco for the California Classic, the Lakers ultimately fell 87-75 to the Sacramento Kings.

L.A. trailed by 11 points heading into the fourth quarter, but did manage to take a brief lead midway through the period, and only trailed by one at 76-75 with 2:09 to play before they ran out of gas. Kings lottery pick Keegan Murray was the key for his squad, as he reached 24 points on 9 of 16 shooting, and made most of the key plays down the stretch.

L.A., lacking their starting center Jay Huff due to health and safety protocols, weren’t as dominant defensively as they’d been in blowout wins over Miami and Golden State over the weekend.

In fact, the Lakers hadn’t trailed against Miami, and only trailed the Warriors by two early in the first quarter, but they fell behind by as many as six in the first half against the Kings. Sacramento went up 32-26 early in the second quarter, before L.A. answered with a 13-2 run that made it 39-34 with 3:09 left in the half. The Kings managed to tie the score at the half, however, as a 5-0 push in the final minute knotted the score at 43.

Offensive rebounds from Sacramento proved a problem, as their six on that end (11 total) helped the Kings attempt five more shots in the half, making up for their 41.0 shooting percentage. The Lakers didn’t shoot the ball well, either, converting 41.2 percent, though they did manage to hit 11 of 14 free throws, to SAC’s 9 of 11.Javante McCoy led the way in the first half on offense, hitting all four of his shots, including a triple, towards 11 points, as he continued to impress off the bench. Sacha Killeya-Jones, starting for Huff, was also perfect from the field, going 3 for 3 towards seven points.

Sacramento took the lead in the first minute of the third, when Scotty Pippen Jr. – who missed his first six shots of the game – got caught complaining about a no call, leading to his failing to see an offensive board that would have bounced right into his hands; the Kings converted a triple on the other end, starting a 5-0 run that put L.A. in a hole. Pippen, who’d played well in the previous two wins, continued a tough afternoon by committing an offensive foul.

Pippen did help the Lakers offense get going with a nice assist, but Murray went on an individual 5-0 run to push Sacramento’s lead to 10 with 4:24 left in the third. Murray added a three in the final seconds of the period to reach 20 points, and L.A. needed an and-1 from No. 35 overall pick Max Christie to get within 11 at 65-54 after three quarters.

LAL started the fourth quarter on an impressive push, when they trimmed an 11-point margin to five. Sacramento managed a triple after consecutive misses at the rim from L.A. failed to cut it to three, but they got it to three moments later after a tough three from Mason Jones and a transition layup from McCoy made it 68-65.

The run continued out of a Kings time out, when L.A. scored twice at the rim to go back in front, up 70-69, before a just-returned Murray answered for Sacramento. The teams exchanged buckets for the final few minutes, before Murray put the game away with a steal and fastbreak dunk that made it 82-75 with 41 seconds to play.

McCoy’s 15 points off the bench paced the Lakers, who 13 apiece from both Paris Bass and Vitto Brown. As a team, the Lakers shot only 37.1 percent from the field, and turned it over 16 times, to Sacramento’s 12.The Lakers are set to take a flight to Las Vegas, where they’ll have a few days to practice and decompress before playing five more games, beginning on Friday night.

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Lakers Fall to Kings to Close Cali Classic

The Lakers beat Golden State on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco for a second straight win to start the California Classic. Below is a running diary of events as they occurred:

FIRST QUARTER9:21:&nbsp;Jay Huff gathered an alley-oop toss from Scotty Pippen, Jr. and managed to finish through contact to secure an and-1, which he paid off at the charity stripe. Huff was terrific in Saturday’s opening win, but his nine points, seven boards and two blocks didn’t tell the full story, since he also impacted Miami at the rim all evening, as the key in holding them to 22 paint points.

7:21:&nbsp;Moses Moody, a 2021 lottery pick and rookie on the champion Warriors squad who showed promise later in the season and played some key minutes in the Western Finals against Dallas, took a blow to the head and had to head to the locker room to try and get the bleeding stopped. Moments later, Lakers rookie Max Christie converted a dunk from Pippen on a fast break for his first FG, putting LAL up 10-4.

1:09:&nbsp;Golden State got a three from Alex Morales to tie a game L.A. had led from the start at 20, but Lakers sub R.J. Cole quickly countered to restore the advantage. The margin after 10 minutes would be 23-21 after GSW split a pair of free throws. Huff finished the period with seven points (5 of 5 at the FT line).

SECOND QUARTER6:14:&nbsp;Christie has been active on the glass to start the summer, and flew in to grab a miss, then grabbed his own miss, before tossing it out to a waiting Cole Swider. The Syracuse sharpshooter, who hit 5 of 7 FG’s and 3 of 5 3’s vs. MIA, rose to hit a triple that put LAL up 33-30 and forced a GSW time out. Out of the T.O., LAL got a stop with Christie forcing Moody to toss it out of the paint, and Swider then hit a second straight three on the other end.

2:48:&nbsp;Mac McClung, last season’s G League Rookie of the Year, capped an 8-2 Lakers run with a driving layup that got him to five bench points, and put LAL up 46-34 as they continued to control the second quarter, with a 23-13 edge to that point, behind some aggressive defense.

0:22.0:&nbsp;Huff, who had the first five points of the half, also had the last three, as he hit a corner triple on LAL’s final offensive possession to secure a 49-37 advantage at the break. LAL shot 46.9 percent from the field, including 5 of 12 from three (41.7 percent), and hit 14 of 17 FT’s. They held GSW to 42.4 percent field goals, limiting them to eight FT attempts, and four makes, for a +10 advantage at the charity stripe.

THIRD QUARTER5:49:&nbsp;The lead expanded to 19 as Christie hit a tough baseline floater, his second such shot of the game, to reach eight points. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old continued his strong defensive play for the weekend, doing most of his work on Moody (3 for 8 FG’s with three turnovers and one assist to that point).

2:25:&nbsp;Swider was at it again from 3, drilling his second of the quarter, and fourth of the game to make it 68-48, Lakers. That’s a combined seven triples on 13 attempts over the weekend.

0:00:&nbsp;L.A.’s defense has been gritty in both games, and another stop to close the third quarter allowed a 72-53 lead heading into the final quarter. McClung converted a bucket on the previous possession to reach seven points to match Javante McCoy in bench points. All five LAL starters were in double figures already.

FOURTH QUARTER8:51:&nbsp;McClung went up for a dunk, and appeared to be fouled on the way up, with Golden State challenging a ruling they’d eventually win. As McClung went to the sideline during the review, new Lakers head coach Darvin Ham popped out of his courtside seat near LAL’s bench to give McClung a big hug. Ham’s full of positive energy and laughs, but he’s equally adept at keeping things real with players, using film to support suggestions or asks.

5:21:&nbsp;With his father looking on from the stands, Pippen Jr. scored twice in a two-minute stretch, to keep LAL in firm control at 83-61. That got Pippen Jr. to a team-high 18 points on 4 of 7 FG’s, and 6 of 7 FT’s, plus an impressive eight assists without a turnover.

4:10:&nbsp;Swider’s fifth 3-pointer put the game on ice, securing a second straight win for the Lakers. Sacha Killeya-Jones added a pair of buckets in the final minutes, including his second three, to push the margin further.

0:00:&nbsp;Your final: Lakers 100, Warriors 77.

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Lakers 100, Warriors 77: Running Diary

The Lakers tipped off their summer of developmental basketball with a 100-66 win over Miami in the first game of the California Classic at San Francisco’s Chase Center on Saturday afternoon.

L.A.’s group of young players – featuring five guys from their South Bay Lakers G League squad – had a considerable continuity advantage over Miami, and controlled the game from start to finish.

“They just competed at the highest level,” said Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy, who’s handling head coaching duties for the Classic. “Summer league, you try to get these guys to play hard and play together, and for their first game, I thought they did pretty good.”

Scoring efficiently on one end operating out of Darvin Ham’s four-out, one-in system that will be implemented for the senior squad, the Lakers shot 47.1 percent from the field, including nine of 26 from three, and attempted 32 free throws (making 27) to Miami’s 19.

“Three days of practice, you try to give them a structure, and Darvin’s offense was built around a lot of what we did,” Handy continued. “One of the things we talked about before the game was, ‘How many times can we get three stops in a row,’ and they really dug into the defensive side and just tried to compete, made them take tough shots.”

That defense was anchored by center Jay Huff – who had two blocks, and numerous contests at the rim – as the Lakers shut down the paint, holding the Heat to 22 interior points on the evening. They also competed well on the perimeter, led by No. 35 pick Max Christie.

Though he struggled with his shot early, Christie scored five straight points in the fourth quarter, and had a team-high nine boards with three assists. But he was very noticeable on the defensive end, the 19-year-old giving Heat players trouble on the perimeter, and helping his teammates from the weak side when off the ball.

“Max is really long, he’s really athletic and he can effect a lot of shots,” said Lakers two-way signee Cole Swider, who started on the wing alongside Christie. “He can get up on guys and pressure them because he’s really good laterally, really good using his body and hands. Max is learning each and every day, and is obviously a very versatile defender.”

“Max is going to be great,” said Handy. “His first NBA-type game after being drafted, sometimes guys have a bit of nervousness. But I was just talking to Max about being a dog. I made the comment about him reminding me of Doug Christie – people don’t remember what type of player he was. When he was in Sacramento, Doug was a high-level, versatile guy that could defend, play offense. I see Max in that wheelhouse of being able to do a plethora of things. He had some great looks, just want him to stay aggressive.”

If Christie started slowly with his shot, Swider did not. The sharpshooter was highly efficient on on Saturday. A 40-plus percent 3-point shooter at Syracuse his last two seasons who impressed throughout practice last week with his quick, smooth release, Swider hit 5 of 7 FG’s, including three triples, towards 13 points.

“I think I turned down some shots, too,” said Swider. “I definitely got more comfortable as the game went on, and I think I can show more parts of my game. It’s a learning process like anything … I’m more than a catch-and-shoot shooter, and in the NBA you gotta be more than a catch-and-shoot guy, otherwise they’ll just take you away from the beginning.”

Fellow two-way player Scotty Pippen Jr. added 12 points with six boards and three assists, getting to the free throw line eight times to make up for a slow shooting night (2 for 8).

The Lakers started the game on a 7-0 run and never looked back, leading 25-9 after Mason Jones – who finished third in G League MVP voting last season – capped a run with two free throws. Miami managed a pair of threes late in the quarter to pull within 12 at 29-17, but they wouldn’t get within single digits for the rest of the game.

L.A. quickly pushed the lead back into very comfortable territory with a run to start the second quarter, as Paris Bass and Mac McClung, fellow SBL alums, combined for several of their eventual 32 combined points off the bench. A 22-10 quarter had L.A. up 51-27 at the half.

The second quarter also saw the first example of the new “Take Foul" rule, where a foul in the open court that disrupts a transition play gives the offended team one free throw plus the basketball (the Heat committed one on the Lakers).

Christie continued his strong individual on-ball defense in the third quarter by forcing a contested two from Miami’s Mychal Mulder, with MIA eventually finishing the game shooting only 28 percent.

The third quarter margin was 19-14, and fourth 30-25, as the Lakers were able to coast to a win.

Up next on Sunday afternoon is a 4:30 p.m. contest against Golden State.

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Lakers Open Summer League in Style￼

In 2011, we sat down with assistant coach Darvin Ham, the only former NBA player on the front bench of a talented Mike Brown staff, as Ham detailed his life and NBA experiences up to that point.

Eleven years later, on June 3, 2022, the Lakers announced Ham as the 28th&nbsp;head coach in franchise history.

So, for a second time, we sat down with Ham to do Part Two, and catch up on his years as an assistant coach in Atlanta and Milwaukee, and dive into his philosophies and plans for his first NBA head coaching opportunity. Below is the transcription of our conversation:

MT: &nbsp;What did you take out of your experience as an assistant with the Lakers?Ham:&nbsp; What my time here did for me was give me the confidence of, ‘OK, I’m on this (coaching) side of it now.’ I felt comfortable having put in the work, with my time in the (then) D League (building) that confidence. Drawing up plays, breaking down film. You put those two years in L.A. in the mix, plus having five years of direct coaching experience, and the last two being with the most storied franchise in the NBA. With one of the top five greats of all time in Kobe Bryant. High level basketball players in Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash, Metta World Peace, Antawn Jamison … and also young emerging players like Jordan Hill or Earl Clark. It really made me come out of my shell to have the confidence that I can really do this.

MT: In 2013, after two years with the Lakers, how does your next job with Atlanta come about?Ham: Early in that (2012-13) season, Mike Brown had been relieved of his duties, and we brought on Mike D’Antoni. I had signed a three-year contract, but it was going to take some time for Mike to figure out his own staff. He kept us on, and brought in his brother, Dan D’Antoni. That summer, Mike (D’Antoni) couldn’t commit more years. He said ‘Darvin, you did a great job for me, and I’d love to keep you around,’ but he was basically in a holding pattern.

I had one of two choices. Coach (Steve) Clifford (in Charlotte)* and I were here together as assistants, and he and I have become very, very close. I just talked to him a couple of days ago. And then Mike Budenholzer (in Atlanta), who I didn’t know other than in passing. But Quin Snyder, on that 2011-12 staff in L.A., was coming back from coaching with Ettore Messina in Russia to be Coach Budenholzer’s lead assistant in Atlanta. Quin brought us together, and I went down to Miami to meet with Bud, who was working in San Antonio at the time, they were in the (2013) Finals. Then I went up to Charlotte to talk to Cliff, was supposed to catch a flight from Charlotte to L.A. when I got a call from Bud saying he wanted me to sit down with (Hawks GM at the time) Danny (Ferry). So I went to Atlanta, spent another night there, had dinner with Danny, then jumped on a plane. By the time I had landed, Atlanta had offered me a contract. Cliff had also offered me a contract, so I had a decision to make. As fun as I knew it would have been to work with Cliff – he and I are really close friends – I wanted to see what Bud had to offer, knowing that he’d been with (Gregg) Popovich for 19 years. Knowing it was a reputable system on both sides of the ball, albeit with great players in Tim (Duncan), Manu (Ginobili) and Tony (Parker). But even still, I wanted to see how they did things, and nobody better than Coach Bud to learn from. It was a tough decision because I love Cliff to death, and it was hard telling him no, but it was a good yes with Bud that turned into nine years working together.*Clifford became the Charlotte Hornets head coach in 2013.

MT: How did you grow as a coach in Atlanta?Ham: Coach Bud heaped on a ton of responsibility. We’d just signed Paul Millsap, and you think about the staff Bud put together. I just talked to him yesterday thinking about it. Bud, Quin, Kenny Atkinson, Taylor Jenkins and myself. All NBA head coaches. Some of those meetings were knock-down, drag-out fights with all of us pushing each other and knowing that once we hit the door, we were all unified whether it was your idea or mine. We were just trying to find the best way to go about doing things, but we always were on the same page once a decision was made. So, doing scout(ing reports), presenting to the team, taking a lead role in player development with Millsap, Al Horford, Dennis Schroder … and that was the cool thing about Bud. Every coach had their main guys that they’d work out for pregame warmups, but non game days, we’d rotate players. So I could be working with Jeff Teague one day, or Kyle Korver or DeMarre Carroll. In a team like that, when you have a lot of very good players but no top-level, elite superstar, they were more compliant. Easy to coach. And they liked playing together. Learning how a team can really function together as a unit, they were so connected that I think we surprised the hell out of everyone in 2015-16 when we won 60 games and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. So, that time in Atlanta really helped me mature.

MT: On that coaching staff, you were the only former player. Of course we have several other former NBA role players now with head jobs, like Steve Kerr, Ty Lue, Monty Williams, Willie Green or Ime Udoka … was that noticeable for you on that staff? Does it matter?Ham: I can speak from a player’s perspective, but my strategical thought process was also respected because I had put the work in. You have some guys like Jason Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard that can really see the game multiple steps ahead, that can transfer that to the player. Me being a former role player, having to study and be detailed about how I approached the game spilled over into my coaching career just by focusing on the little things. Preparation. Consistency. Knowing how to maximize different pieces to your team. Again, I can’t thank the D League enough, because I was able to experiment with different things, have different types of practices and film sessions. That little time in that league really prepared me. And then getting with Bud, who’s extremely detailed, knows how he wants his stuff presented, knows how he wants his coaches to teach his players to point out certain things that are going to make the group better as a whole. He was masterful with that, and I think a lot of that rubbed off on me.

MT: Along those lines, we’ve seen all types of coaches have success, though there seem to be more former role players or film room guys right now than former star players or long-time assistants…&nbsp;Ham: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A lot of these front office personnel, sometimes they want a coach that’s a strong leader. Or a coach that’s more tactical. Or a coach that’s going to push the team, or one that can develop, or one that can manage high-stature players. But I feel like we have the capability to do all of that. Me and my counterparts all learned under Coach Bud, but then you look outside of working with Bud, your experiences and education that you’ve gained through your travels in the NBA. Former video guys, former players, whatever it may be, to get to that point you’ve had to learn something from someone that came before you. I love the diversity of it, the multiple backgrounds that guys come from. Look at Billy Donovan, a former college coach. It’s not just one route. It’s a multifaceted highway system to get to this destination as an NBA head coach.

MT: No doubt. So the transition to Milwaukee … was that a simple decision for you, to stick with Coach Bud?Ham: Yeah. He knows what type of crew that he needs to accomplish the tasks before him, and it was going to be a different type of coaching. In Atlanta, we had five guys who were more system based. Now you’ve turned the page to Milwaukee, with one of the best players in the league in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and another high-level player in Khris Middleton. You’re trying to find pieces and develop a system that’s going to enhance those talents that they both have. Khris being a knock-down, dead-eye shooter, and Giannis being the exact replica of his nickname, the Greek Freak, who physically imposes his will on both sides of the ball. We couldn’t do the five-man, share-the-load type thing anymore. Defensively, our principles stayed pretty much the same, but offensively we had to get to a newer, more open style where Giannis could attack consistently throughout the game. Bud’s ability to make that adjustment, and us as a staff supporting him, I think spoke volumes to the type of leader that he was, and us having the aptitude to adjust.

MT: Did you start thinking more as a head coach as the years went by?Ham: Absolutely. From Day 1. Having the opportunity in the D League being head coach and GM triggered that mindset, but then at Atlanta, where Quin had been a college head coach, Taylor Jenkins had been a D League head coach. We always thought like that. Then the assistants around us in Milwaukee, with Charles Lee, Ben Sullivan, Patrick St. Andrews, young great coaches around us. Bud has always done a great job in having a diversified, but also in unison coaching staff.

MT: What were a couple of things that you set aside as, ‘When I’m a head coach, I want X, Y and Z” as a style or belief system?Ham: The thing you’ll see that’s similar to us that makes our coaching style similar is our defense. The things we do defensively will resemble what we did in Milwaukee. Some of the stuff you see Taylor do in Memphis, or what you saw Quinn do in Utah. I always say that defense is objective. What do you want to do? It’s not so much what you want to take away, it’s what you want to give up: contested two’s from mid-range inside the three-point line. That’s an object we can all accomplish with drilling, repetition, watching film, carrying it from the film to the practice floor, to the shootaround, to the game floor.&nbsp;

Offense? Show me the subjects. Who are the best, most powerful guys on that side of the ball for that team? We’re going to construct something around them. I see a lot of similarities in our Big 3 as what we had in Milwaukee with Giannis, Khris and Jrue (Holiday) with LeBron, AD and Russ. Spacing is going to be different – there are going to be a lot more organic, natural ways to move the ball side to side and make sure we’re playing with the pass, and getting the best possible shot there is. It shouldn’t be a struggle where we feel like any of these guys have to put their cape on and save the day offensively, make it tough on themselves or wear themselves down early in the season because they’re carrying such a heavy load. You’re going to see us playing with the pass, ball and body movement, a free-flowing style of basketball. Four-out, one-in, where it’s going to be pleasing to the eye, and a lot of fun for our players to play that way.

MT: What’s the elevator pitch for that four-out, one-in style?Ham: Just being able to flatten the defense. It starts with guys sprinting to the corners offensively. Once we get a stop, we’re sprinting to the corners, flattening the defense. If there’s an overloaded side, meaning three guys on the weak side, that middle guy is slashing to the rim. We want to put immediate threats on the corner 3’s, and an immediate threat at the rim. Same thing if you’re overloaded on the strong side, so you’ll have a strong corner, an attack man, a string man and trail, a slasher and a weak side corner guy. Having that opens up driving lanes, as opposed to a five-out system where you’re constantly seeing the defense loaded, either from the corner, and the nail and the elbow, or across the top. Elbow is covered, nail covered. It takes one man away from being able to create a wall early in transition. Again, it all starts with our defense, because our ability to get stops and hold teams to one shot and have our defensive rebounding percentages go up is going to ease the stress on our offense. The defense is out of balance, on their heels and you’re not taking the ball out of the net playing against a set defense every possession. That’s tough to do.

MT: After having coached Giannis, knowing what a luxury it is to build a defensive game plan around a guy that can do everything – protect the rim, switch to the top perimeter threat, defend a post-up big, whatever – there must be an excitement to put Anthony Davis at the center of your scheme?Ham: Absolutely. Just his versatility, man. Everything you just mentioned, and his hunger to do so. He’s a willing defender, and I think it starts there. The spirit and willingness to defend, and to be excited about getting a stop. And I think LeBron falls into that pot of being a very multi-faceted, versatile defender. We’ll do things matchup wise where it’ll be a chess game. We may switch matchups halfway through the game, or late in the fourth quarter; change coverages to enhance their abilities on that side of the ball. And I mentioned it in my press conference, he and I talked about it 1-on-1 over dinner, and I’m gonna keep preaching it. Russ’s ability to be physical on the perimeter, his ability to crack back and get defensive rebounds, he’s one of the best defensive rebounding guards our league has ever seen. Him getting back to being that sparkplug from a guard position I think will help all of us.

MT: For some players, it’s hard to carry a big load on the offensive end – which in the past Russ has done – and also have a lot to offer on the defensive end. Is part of the pitch to Russ that you don’t need that same level of offensive creation since you have LeBron, especially, so there has to be more devoted to the defensive end?Ham: I think from a team standpoint, having more team concepts than individual concepts. By that I mean, we have a tendency – from some of the film I watched – guys in defensive transition are just running to their own guy, backpedaling instead of sprinting back, getting into a stance and presenting a united front defensively. Covering areas as opposed to covering bodies. We have a (way of looking at) transition D: cover the basket first, stop the ball, show a crowd, initial defender in front of the ball, whoever is back, showing a crowd in a stance, and find most dangerous. And last man back, if you’re the one that went for a shot or offensive rebound, peel back to the weak side to find any loose shooter.

And then you get into your halfcourt defensive concepts, in terms of if there’s an iso player, someone will get beat off the dribble because it’s the NBA with the best players in the world. So you have to have that baseline help, what we call our MIG, our Most Important Guy. That triggers our V-back, that’s the guy protecting the help, helping the helper. And our sink guy, being able to scramble on first pass out. Being able to drill and have repetitions with those guys being on a string, doing it as a team as opposed to saying one star defender will keep a guy under control by himself. It has to be a team effort.

MT: MIG had me thinking of “Top Gun”…Ham: (Laughs) I know right? That’s shoutout to Coach Bud. Most Important Guy, baseline defensive help. And that starts with individual pride, also, in terms of guarding the ball and keeping the ball in front of you and not consistently allowing dribble penetration. There’s a little individualism in there, but for the most part, it’s a (team concept).

MT: We’ll have plenty of time for more basketball, but a few quick personal questions. Last time we did a Q&amp;A, your three sons will still pretty young. What’s it been like seeing them grow in these last nine years that you’ve been coaching?Ham: Seeing my kids grow up, the maturation process … my oldest son, Darvin Jr., is a college coach at (DII) Northwood University. He’ll be doing some stuff with the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer. Then my middle son, Donovan, he’s been hired into the video room in Milwaukee. And then Dominick, going to school at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. He sat out last year and has two years of eligibility left, so we’re looking forward to him having a good year on the floor. Then my wife, being an educator, putting her stuff on hold. She’s certified to be a principal, but she’s been chasing me around from Atlanta to Milwaukee to L.A.; we met in college at Texas Tech, and that maturation has also been a beautiful thing.

MT: That’s gotta be pretty meaningful and rewarding to see your boys all involved in the game you love.Ham: Them being in the business, man. They’re attracted to the game. They played the game. My oldest two getting ready to work on the other side of it.

MT: You get any texts from the boys with thoughts right after the game?Ham: A little bit, but not really, man, they’re good about that. They’ll give their two cents every now and again, but they don’t flood me with it. That’s more my wife. (Laughs). ‘When are you ready to talk about the game!’

MT: What’s the family feedback been about your taking the Lakers job?Ham: It’s historic, man. It’s beautiful. Just pushing the envelope. I got into this in the D League when I wanted to work on the front office side, I really didn’t think I wanted to coach. But getting out there with those guys, developing them, it was so much fun. I got that itch, and it took off from there. Things just happened organically, and it turned out to be this way. I fully embrace it, and the fact that I was here as an assistant coach makes it that much more special. I look forward to the challenge, am excited about our team and the possibilities, and am not going to put a ceiling on what we can or can’t do this season. We’re going to put the best roster together that we can with myself, Rob and Jeanie (Buss), keep it organized, keep it consistent, work our asses off every day and see where that takes us.

MT: Last one: what’s at the top of the list for you for these next few months before preseason starts?Ham: I think the biggest thing is communication. Our three mantra words are going to be competitiveness, togetherness and accountability. Communicating that in the way we watch film, showing guys the way I want to play, the best way for us to have the most benefits is to play this way. But nothing is set in stone. We have a skeleton for that playing style, and will add meat to the bones through dialogue, collaboration, and communication. And so, I’m looking forward to that, I’m looking forward to getting with Rob and seeing what we can do to make this roster as good as it can be. And hell, go have some fun just preparing every day.

getting-to-know-darvin-ham-part-two-06292022

Getting to Know Darvin Ham: Part Two

On Thursday evening, the 2022 NBA Draft will take place at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, and though the Lakers don’t have either of their own draft picks, they got into the action by making a move on Thursday morning.

L.A. announced a trade with Orlando for the 35th overall pick in the draft, in exchange for a future second round pick and cash considerations. L.A.’s own second rounder (No. 38) is owned by San Antonio, while New Orleans (8) owns the first.

This is an area where the Lakers have drafted very well in recent years, including:

Regardless of where their picks fall, each year the Lakers scouting department ranks draft prospects from one through 60. That way, they’re always ready to make a selection should moves occur before or during the draft.

The front office also has an additional list for undrafted players they’ll try to sign to their Summer League roster.

They’ve struck gold on a few of those undrafted players, including current Laker Austin Reaves, and former Laker Alex Caruso.

In order to do so, the scouting department – led by assistant GM and Director of Scouting Jesse Buss – analyzes players all over the world throughout the year, and going back years; information is also gathered during the in-person draft workouts that have been going on throughout the previous month.

All of the accumulated info will be used on pick No. 35, a spot where they can look to add an impact player, as well as on the aforementioned crop of undrafted players.

The draft starts at 4:30 p.m. Pacific on ESPN.