Lakers Nation Home Darvin Ham Lakers news: Jalen Hood-Schifino to play G League South Bay to help return to playmaking Lakers news: Jalen Hood-Schifino will play G League South Bay to help return to playmaking 3 minutes to read Ice Twitter Gary A. Vasquez-USA
TODAY Sports Issued 19/11/2023 FACTOR Ron Gutterman The Los Angeles Lakers recently announced that rookie point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino is recovering from injury and beginning the next steps in his game plan. While it’s still unclear what role Hood-Schifino will play in head coach Darvin Ham’s rotation, bringing him back is another step toward a fully healthy roster. But thanks to his rookie status and the fact that his spot in the rotation is unclear, Hood-Schifino looks set to make much of his recovery and return to action with the South Bay Lakers of the G-League. The South Bay offers Hood-Schifino a chance to get real reps to accelerate his return to game form instead of sticking with the Lakers, who rarely practice due to the demands of the NBA schedule. Ham spoke to Spectrum SportsNet about Hood-Schifino’s progress and the role South Bay and some Lakers players have in preparing for their return and NBA debut: “I think our G-League system helps in that process. It’s just that he’s adjusted to getting his legs down and going up and down against the competition. When we get to that like I do with my G-League, I said , that’s part of the Program for every team. Not just finding new, up-and-coming talent, but keeping and supporting your current young guys. I think between us and South Bay, he’ll come to his senses pretty quickly.” Ham explained in more detail what the young rookie’s goal is in the coming weeks and how the players plan for him to get there. “Yeah, I mean our waiting group, the guys who get little or no minutes, our South Bay team. The biggest thing is to help him get into his rhythm. If he’s a rookie, there’s already a lot of challenges, not to mention. I’m not worried, he’s a smart kid, he absorbs information well, and again, we have that part of our program — South Bay — that helps us be ready with our group, that helps him get up to speed.” Integrating a player into the system is difficult if his injury occurred in the preseason and he has not yet played a regular season. However, it is especially difficult when the player is a rookie and has never seen NBA action. Right now, the Lakers are relying on the South Bay and that part of their organization to get Hood-Schifino going, and then LA will make the decision from there. Despite his development, the rookie could use some reps in the G-League since he doesn’t get much playing time at the NBA level anyway, so this seems like a good plan for the Lakers. Gabe Vincent will be reevaluated in two weeks After a few weeks of silence, Gabe Vincent was finally reevaluated this week and the Lakers announced that he will be reevaluated in two weeks on November 30th. The Lakers added that Vincent is making progress in rehabilitation. While Vincent still needs some time, it’s good to see that he’s making progress toward returning to L.A.
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