Before the D-League season opener against the Rio Grande Valley Vipers on Saturday night, Lakers rookie Elias Harris was assigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders. After only appearing in just two games and 11 minutes total this season for the Lakers, this was a good opportunity for Harris to play major minutes.
In the first game of the season, Harris was efficient from the field as he scored 18 points on only 10 shots. Despite the 124-114 loss, Harris said it’s the perfect time to improve and he’s enjoying the D-League experience so far:
“I think this is the perfect time to try it in the game see how it works — if it works for me or not. We’re going to talk about the game probably and see where I can improve, what I can do better. This is a really good experience here at the D-League.”
While Harris scored 18 points, he only had two rebounds as the D-Fenders gave up 19 offensive rebounds. The Lakers forward was very critical of his game and feels he can do better on the boards and defensively:
“I can do way better on the defensive end and I can rebound way better than I showed tonight.”
With the D-Fenders not playing until next week, it’ll give Harris time to watch Saturday night’s performance and see where he can improve. Considering it was his first game playing major minutes, Harris showed the Lakers coaching staff what he’s capable of doing when given minutes.
With the season opening loss, Harris and the D-Fenders will take on the Santa Cruz Warriors on November 30 at 7 p.m. Game 2 and all of the D-Fenders games will be broadcasted on YouTube.
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