The Lakers' preseason has been filled with hype about the potential of their burgeoning backcourt of this season's No. 2 draft pick D'Angelo Russell and last season's surprise player Jordan Clarkson.
And in one 12-minute stretch, those plans may have been interrupted by newcomer Marcelo Huertas, according to Lakersnation.com.
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The 32-year-old Brazilian star of FC Barcelona the past four seasons, made his debut in a Los Angeles uniform Saturday and had an impressive 12 minutes. He hit both his field-goal attempts and had six assists against just one turnover in the Lakers' 85-70 "victory" over the Warriors in a game that was called late in the third quarter because the court was deemed too slippery to continue.
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"What I saw with him in training camp is a guy that just knows how to play," coach Byron Scott said after the game. "He's a true point guard in every sense of the word where he's looking to set his teammates up. I think you guys saw that in the 12 minutes where he had command of the offense, he was telling guys where to go, he was setting guys up and that's what I saw in training camp."
When asked whether Huertas had a realistic chance to break the starting lineup when the season starts Oct. 28, Scott responded, "Nothing's out of the realm of possibility. ... We'll just have to wait and see."
Scott added that he needs to see more of Huertas in game-like conditions before determining his role in Los Angeles' rotation.
Clarkson led the Lakers with 17 points and had five rebounds, but he didn't have any assists in 18 minutes. Russell had two points on 1-for-6 shooting and had two assists in 12 minutes.
The veteran free-agent impressed his teammates as well.
"Marcelo's the man," Lakers guard Nick Young said after the game. "He's just got control in the game. He finds players on the court, and for me, that's what I love in a player because I'm a shooter. I need somebody that can find me, and he was just finding everybody."
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