When will the real summer league Los Angeles Lakers stand up? When will men such as Maxwell Lewis, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James play well on a consistent basis, on both ends of the floor?
That could take a while, judging by the fact that the Lakers put forth yet another weak all-around performance on Monday against the Boston Celtics.
Despite falling behind 14-4 due to some putrid shooting, Los Angeles fought back to come to within two points at the end of the first quarter. But that was the last time this game was competitive. Boston won the second quarter 31-17, and L.A. was never able to legitimately fight back, resulting in a 88-74 loss.
Including the California Classic, the Lakers are now 0-5 in summer league play this year.
While there were flashes of promise from some of their key players, virtually none of them were able to put together anything resembling a complete game.
Maxwell Lewis: Early on, Lewis got hot in the second quarter, going 4-of-8 in the period and hitting three 3-pointers to score 11 points. He did a good job of mixing up his offensive attack by occasionally slashing into the paint off the dribble.
But after halftime, the forward missed all three of his shot attempts. While he has some potential to become a useful player, he still needs to put in plenty of work.
Dalton Knecht: Knecht scored a team-high 19 points, but he was hot and cold throughout. With the Lakers struggling mightily to produce points in the third quarter, he hit three shots in a row, but it was just about the only time all night he found any offensive rhythm.
He finished 7-of-21 from the field, although he also had three rebounds, three steals and two assists. It seems Knecht forced quite a few shots and that the Lakers didn’t really run any plays or sequences for him.
Bronny James: It is starting to get painful watching James try to get acclimated to pro basketball. He came into this contest 6-of-26 overall and 0-of-12 from downtown. On Monday, he was 1-of-5 overall and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, and he even air-balled a couple of shots.
The 19-year-old finished with two points, three rebounds and one assist.
Moses Brown: Perhaps the only true bright spot for L.A. was the play of center Moses Brown. The 7-foot-2 24-year-old did a pretty good job of throwing his weight around in the paint, and he tallied 11 points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in 15 minutes.
On one play, he made a nice effort to secure an offensive rebound, then exploded for a dunk. He also made the effort to draw fouls, and he went 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
The Lakers’ next summer league game will be on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. You can see their complete summer league schedule here.