Ivica Zubac finds himself in the (teen) Lakers’ record book
On an otherwise dreary Monday night for the Lakers, hope came from their 19-year-old center.
Ivica Zubac scored a career high 25 points and added 11 rebounds, becoming the first teenager in Lakers franchise history with at least 25 points and at least 10 rebounds in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Perhaps more impressive than that, however, was his commitment to improvement. Despite a blowout Lakers loss to the Denver Nuggets, Zubac didn’t lose sight of his bigger goals. He wants to be a versatile defender, and he showed that late in Monday night’s 129-101 loss.
“We’re trying to switch one through five to get him some experience with having to guard quicker players,” Lakers Coach Luke Walton said. “He got a couple threes made on him in the fourth, so we said we’ll go away from that. It’s not really fair to let these guys target practice Zu out there.”
In the moment, Zubac realized he wasn’t high enough on those plays. He knew he could do better, so when he came to the bench he asked to stay in the same coverage.
“I wanted to prove that I can guard that high, so when the teams go smaller, I can stay on the court,” Zubac said. “That I can stay on the court, whoever’s on the other team.”
Brewer’s return
Wednesday’s game will mark Corey Brewer’s first trip back at the Toyota Center in Houston since being traded to the Lakers. He’ll get to sleep in his own bed Tuesday night. He’ll get to see his dog, who’s been with a dog-sitter the past couple weeks.
“It’ll be good,” Brewer said. “Good to see my guys. Get to see everybody.”
With the trade last month, Brewer went from a championship contender featuring an MVP candidate to a lottery team that’s now just working through evaluating various lineups.
At 31, he is one of only five Lakers older than 25, and the one who gets the most playing time these days. Luol Deng, Timofey Mozgov, Metta World Peace and (lately) Nick Young see little playing time as Walton looks to evaluate players he has seen less of.
“It’s different,” Brewer said. “It hasn’t been bad. It’s a good group of guys here. It’d be different if I went somewhere there was a bad group of guys. All these guys, they’re young, they’re good. They’re just learning to play the game. For me, it’s fun. I get a chance to play with some of these guys who are going to be superstars one day. Give them some knowledge I have.”
After 10 years in the NBA, Brewer keeps things in perspective.
“Still playing basketball,” he said. “That’s all I can ask for.”
New world for Nwaba
The idea of playing in the NBA was far from David Nwaba’s mind when he set to work finding a job this summer. He certainly wasn’t thinking about hiring an agent. He was just happy to have a job.
But as soon as the Lakers signed him to a 10-day contract, agents started contacting him. The reality of the business side of basketball appeared. He estimates 10 agents reached out.
“I have a guy that’s still trying to contact me even though they know I have one,” Nwaba said.
With the help of D-Fenders Coach Coby Karl’s recommendation, Nwaba settled on Jason Glushon, who also represents Al Horford and Jrue and Justin Holiday. While Karl’s recommendation gave him some peace of mind, the whole concept is still a little foreign to Nwaba.
“It is weird,” Nwaba said. “It’s hard to trust somebody, fully trust somebody, that you’ve barely met. We plan on sitting down with each other and getting to know each other. It is weird that I have to rely on somebody else to handle all that stuff.”
UP NEXT
LAKERS AT HOUSTON ROCKETS
When: Wednesday, 5 p.m. PDT.
Where: Toyota Center.
On the air: TV: Spectrum SportsNet, Spectrum Deportes; Radio: 710, 1330.
Records: Lakers 20-47; Rockets 46-21.
Record vs. Rockets: 1-1.
Update: The Rockets are fresh off a victory in a potential NBA Finals matchup. They topped the Cavaliers, 117-112, on Sunday and are looking to avoid a letdown against the Lakers, who have the worst record in the West. Heading into Tuesday, since the All-Star break, the Rockets have the best offensive rating in the NBA.
Follow Tania Ganguli on Twitter @taniaganguli
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