SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Miami Heat crushed the Los Angeles Lakers 107-90 in Los Angeles’ summer league opener at the California Classic.
Here are a few impressions from the team’s debut.
Christie appears ready to make a leap
Max Christie looked the part of a sophomore playing with rookies, which is an encouraging sign for his long-term development. His final stat line was notable: 17 points (6-for-11 shooting), six rebounds, four assists and one steal in 32 minutes.
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“It’s always good to see a player in their second summer league, just their disposition on both ends of the floor,” Lakers summer league head coach JD DuBois said. “I’m continuing to challenge him to defend and rebound. And then the offense will continue to take its steps as well.”
Christie’s ballhandling development, in particular, was on display. He was shiftier, with a tighter handle and more confidence in his moves. He had several drives toward the paint in which he shook his defender with a hesitation dribble and/or crossover.
Here’s an example: Christie zooms off a dribble handoff from rookie Colin Castleton and fakes out his defender by pretending to retreat before projecting toward the rim. Then he rises, hangs in the air and lofts the ball in.
“It’s something I was definitely working on this summer — just being able to make plays for myself and others,” Christie said. “Just being comfortable with the ball in my hands. I think tonight was a good day for that. I thought I did a good job of controlling my pace, controlling the tempo, finding guys and then creating for myself, as well.”
Christie lost his balance a couple of times while handling the ball, a clear sign he needs to continue to get stronger and build a sturdier center of gravity. He acknowledged passing up a couple of open 3s he should’ve taken, an area the Lakers’ coaching staff harped on during his rookie season.
But there was a stark difference in the way he carried himself. He looks bigger, which he is. He has bulked up to about 205 pounds after entering the NBA in the mid-190s. But he’s also more mature and self-assured.
“I think he’s matured a lot in his body,” fellow sophomore Cole Swider said. “He’s matured a lot in his game as well. He’s making a lot quicker decisions. He’s able to make that midrange jump shot. He’s able to shoot the 3. He’s able to beat guys off the dribble and use his body and finish over guys. And then defensively, he’s always been super solid. So he’s continued that and gotten better. But I think overall, just his mind, his spirit. His preparation is great. He works really hard. So it’s been really great to see him progress over the past year.”
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The Lakers are betting on Christie’s emerging as a reliable option at the backup two and three spots in the rotation. He appears to be on track for that assignment.
“I felt really comfortable out there,” Christie said. “I felt more assertive. … It felt good to be out there. I had a fun time even though it was a loss. But I enjoyed myself out there. I felt really confident. Just looking to keep that going.”
Hood-Schifino is progressing at his own pace
Jalen Hood-Schifino was nothing if not aggressive in his NBA debut, finishing with 15 points on 6-for-19 shooting. He showcased his playmaking skills, finishing with four assists, including a couple of remarkable finds.
After a two-point, 1-for-8 outing in the first half, Hood-Schifino was far more efficient and effective in the second half, scoring 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
“Definitely was more aggressive,” Hood-Schifino said of his second-half performance. “Was getting downhill a lot. I was finishing it.”
On a positive note, Hood-Schifino is crafty and changes gears well. He has a knack for stopping and starting, keeping his defender on their heels and opening up the opportunity to burn them. On this possession, Hood-Schifino uses his shiftiness to accelerate downhill full-court and get to the rim for a reverse layup:
Jalen Hood-Schifino drive and finish 😤
Watch the California Classic LIVE on ESPN2. pic.twitter.com/CRVUKa6vPe
— NBA (@NBA) July 3, 2023
And on this possession, Hood-Schifino uses a ghost screen to create a pause and separation to knife his way to the basket and finish with a ridiculous scoop bucket:
Hood-Schifino drives and scores!
Watch the 2023 California Classic on ESPN2. pic.twitter.com/rTGK1wfwRq
— NBA (@NBA) July 3, 2023
Rookie point guards can struggle to adjust to the speed and spacing — two areas Hood-Schifino brought up afterward — of NBA basketball during summer league and early in their careers, so this isn’t exactly a surprise. Hood-Schifino needs to shore up his shot selection, which will happen with more experience.
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“I thought Jalen started out and he was forcing a little bit,” Swider said. “Then he settled into the game.”
The more concerning observation from Monday’s game was that Hood-Schifino often struggled as a point-of-attack defender. He was blown by multiple times — in part because he has a bad habit of being too upright in his defensive stance — with Miami ballhandlers frequently seeming to have better bursts than him.
Hood-Schifino appears to be far from being a rotation player. That could change at some point between now and the season — or even now and the end of summer — but he shot under 30 percent and had nearly as many turnovers (three) as assists (four) in his debut. Even so, that’s OK. The Lakers didn’t draft him for that. They’re high on his long-term upside. Anything he provides in the short term is gravy.
Hood-Schifino is officially the player to watch closest during the rest of summer league.
“Overall, just looking for him to get the reps,” DuBois said. “You can’t substitute reps. You can’t substitute possessions as a pro. … It’s a good starting point. This is our base, and then we’ll just keep building from there.”
Castleton’s passing stands out
Colin Castleton, who officially signed a two-way contract with the Lakers on Monday before the game (along with D’Moi Hodge), is the type of high-IQ prospect the Lakers have valued over the past decade. He’s more than just a big body — he’s an incredibly skilled offensive player.
He had two assists but could’ve easily had several more had his teammates either made shots or not been fouled on certain possessions. Castleton was especially adept at executing dribble handoff actions with his teammates and flashed the ability to find cutters as well.
Look at the speed with which Castleton initiates this handoff with Hodge. This isn’t a normal center play. These are advanced traits and instincts that only the best big-man passers have:
Castleton was something of a hub for the offense, which was a bit surprising given that is not how the Lakers typically run their offense in the regular season. (Castleton was a good passer in college, so the ability has been there for a while.)
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Castleton also showed he has soft hands and can catch and finish in traffic, as he does all in one motion off this full-court hit-ahead pass from Christie:
Castleton picked up six fouls, in part because he was so active defensively, trying to block and contest every shot in his vicinity. He also had an offensive foul from illegal screens, with DuBois saying afterward it was more of a timing issue between Castleton and the team’s perimeter players.
He technically would’ve fouled out under normal NBA rules, and that might have affected his aggression defensively as the game wore on. But the Heat looked rather comfortable charging at him and finishing over him. Again, the obvious caveat applies: It was only one game.
One such contest in transition led to his getting posterized by Heat rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. — the play of the game:
Jaquez Jr. THROWS IT DOWN 💨
Miami's #18 overall draft pick with a massive transition slam… 2023 California Classic LIVE on ESPN2. pic.twitter.com/Uzue8XtavU
— NBA (@NBA) July 3, 2023
That’s the risk with going for blocked shots. But it’s also the type of risk the best defensive big men take.
Overall, Castleton was solid. It’s clear why the Lakers valued him so much — and that was with him not protecting the rim the way he’s capable of. Depending on how he develops over the next few months and which center the Lakers sign with their 14th roster spot, Castleton has a shot at rotation minutes at some point this season.
Lewis’ pump-and-drive game
Maxwell Lewis didn’t get much playing time in his debut (16:14), which was one of the rotational surprises — especially considering how much the Lakers spent to acquire his rights.
Lewis’ game is aesthetically pleasing; he’s smooth and fluid. He didn’t do much, but he still looked like he belonged. Though he’s billed as a shooter, it’s his pump-and-drive skill set that was most impressive.
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Watch as Lewis pump-fakes and blows by his defender, swims past another defender and lays the ball in through contact and a good contest:
Perhaps Lewis could’ve simply taken the 3-point shot. The decision appeared to be premeditated. If you rewatch it, you see the sliver of space he has beforehand and that he never moves into a fake shooting motion. That said, he still executes the move well, and there’s no predicting how a defense — especially in summer league — is going to rotate off a breakdown. By the time Lewis goes up for the shot, all five Heat defenders are near the paint. This was a crafty bucket.
But Lewis doesn’t just use shot fakes to score. Here, he fakes, swings through and drives baseline. As the help shifts over, he throws a dump pass to Castleton, who drops in a quick hook shot:
The next level for movement shooters is being able to attack a defense overplaying the threat of their shot and either score in the paint or create a look for a teammate. Lewis showed that skill set sooner than expected, indicating he might be ahead of schedule in terms of contributing early.
The Lakers play the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, July 5.
(Photo of Max Christie: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
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