Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma may be sitting out, but fellow 2017 first-round pick Josh Hart will be leading the charge for the Los Angeles Lakers in the Las Vegas Summer League this year.
Hart showed a lot of promise as a defender and shooter this past season, and even displayed some unexpected scoring ability down the stretch of the year when the Lakers were ravaged with injuries.
Hart has been hard at work this summer improving his game. Last year he wasn’t able to make an impact during the summer as his run came to an early end thanks to injury. This time he intends changing that.
According to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, Hart plans on dominating at Summer League, though he also maintains that doesn’t simply mean scoring a lot of points:
“I want to dominate [at summer league but] that doesn’t mean I have to go out there and score 30 points every time. I can go out there and have 15 points, 10 rebounds and five or six assists and some steals. It is not just about scoring but going out there and showing the team and front office that I am improving and capable of taking the next step.”
Hart was viewed as a 3-and-D prospect coming out of college and he lived up to that billing as a rookie. He shot a team-leading 39.6 percent from 3-point range and was one of the team’s best individual defenders as well, guarding everyone from point guards to power forwards.
This summer Hart said he has made it a point to improve his ball-handling which is a smart move. As teams begin to close out on him harder, worried about his shooting, he will be able to drive past them for layups and dunks.
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