The Los Angeles Lakers traveled to to take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, which did not go well for the purple and gold as they lost by 44 points.
But, while the game was still in reach, rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino made an appearance in the first quarter and then got extended run in garbage time. Hood-Schifino had been dealing with a right patella contusion that he sustained in the preseason and has been a DNP, coach’s decision the past few games despite being available.
The rookie’s appearance in the first quarter caught fans by surprise and it may be due to the shorthanded nature of the team and head coach Darvin Ham looking for something. Hood-Schifino shared his thoughts on his long-awaited debut, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet:
“I felt good, honestly. I’ve been out for six weeks so to be able to get in there and get some minutes, that was a huge blessing. Body felt well. But yeah, from a personal standpoint, that was definitely a positive. Definitely felt good.”
Despite the game being a blowout, Hood-Schifino was trying to play freely and with some energy in his minutes in the fourth quarter.
“Just keep playing. By the time I got in, obviously there wasn’t too much we could do. But you never stop playing until the game is over so I think just being able to get in there to try to control what I could control and just continue to play the game until it’s over.”
This is a prime example of having to stay ready despite being a rookie on a championship contending team. Young players may never know when they’ll get an opportunity and Hood-Schifino revealed that playing against the 76ers was not something that Ham would let him know about ahead of time:
“It wasn’t but you always just stay ready, especially as a young guy. You never know when your name is gonna be called or whenever you’re gonna go in there. But for me, since I’ve been cleared to play, it’s pretty much just stay ready.”
An eight-man rotation has been in effect more times than fans would like due to injuries to many rotational pieces and it was good to see the rookie at least get an opportunity to play. He did not score in 11 minutes of action but did record two assists.
With players are still working their way back from injury, there is no telling who will appear in each game. But, it will be intriguing to see if Ham will give Hood-Schifino more spot minutes as the season progresses.
Anthony Davis believes Lakers need to ‘flush’ performance against 76ers
While the blowout provided an opportunity for young players to see the floor, it was an overall underwhelming performance from the Lakers. Anthony Davis believes that the team needs to ‘flush’ Monday’s performance and move on with a back-to-back coming up on the schedule.
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