Lakers News: LA G-League Standout Leads the Way in Las Vegas Win Over Clippers
It's never too early to start hyping Lakers-Clippers games, and ESPN happily obliged on Tuesday night by slotting the game in primetime for the west coast. The Lakers would best the Clippers 83-72 to collect their first win in the Las Vegas Summer League.
It's common practice to sprinkle considerable minutes across the roster, rather than in the NBA where just eight or nine players log significant playing time. But even with 11 players getting playing time, South Bay Lakers standout Mason Jones shined the brightest on Tuesday night.
Jones logged a double-double - 15 points and 10 rebounds. He had the highest box plus-minus on the team (+19), and went 6-for-8 from the free-throw line.
The former Arkansas Razorback had a big game, but it was Lakers 2022 second-round pick Max Christie that hit the biggest shot.
Max Christie nailed a three-pointer with under two minutes to play to hand the Lakers a 79-72 lead.
This past season, Jones appeared in four games for the Lakers and averaged 6.8 points per game.
Jones averaged 17.8 points per game in 12 games for the South Bay Lakers and posted a 49.6% field-goal percentage.
During his exit interview for the Lakers, Jones mentioned how he wants to be the next Alex Caruso.
“It’s big because it’s crazy, I feel like me and Alex Caruso are going down the same path. He was one of the best players in the G-League before the year he got that one year experience with the parent [team] and the growth that he had in the G League really helped him with the Lakers and now a days, with the Bulls.”
The guard is a long shot to make the Lakers roster at the moment, but if he can keep piling up quality performances in Las Vegas, he could earn consideration.
